Nostalgia
by bby adorkable
Summary: COMPLETED! After years of wandering, Sasuke returns to Konoha to find his old village gone. Destroyed, desolate, barren. There's only one sign of life left, and it's in the form of a girl with soft, pink hair and incredibly green eyes.
1. Chapter 1

Wrote this because I was sitting there, thinking about how there's barely any more of high school left and that soon, everyone will be separated when they go to college. Made me sad, you know?

* * *

Nostalgia

The barren wasteland was unrecognizable. It held no resemblance to the thriving village that he once called "home". The walls that had, at one time, stood tall and proud were now crumbled, forming a rough outline of the non-existent village's boundaries. He stepped over the piles of rubble, setting foot in what used to be the main entrance to Konoha.

A gust of wind swept through the emptiness, causing the edges of his shirt to ruffle slightly. He tightened his grip on the sword tucked tightly against his hips and took another step forward. The rush of air around him suddenly died down, leaving behind an eerie silence.

Without meaning to, his eyes wandered to the highest point in the area. The Hokage Monument. The mountain itself was still intact, as it was part of nature and couldn't easily be destroyed by man, but the faces that had once been carved into the mountains were gone. It made the entire setting seem just a bit emptier.

He made his way towards the heart of the village, pausing slightly as he passed some frequently visited locations. Konoha Hospital- he'd been there a couple of times, the various training grounds- he'd gotten his ass kicked quite a bit here, Ichiraku Ramen- he'd been forced to come here countless times with his two ex-teammates, the Academy- where he'd pretty much been bored out of his mind everyday during class, and finally, his home.

The Uchiha part of the village was relatively untouched. Most of the buildings were still standing, although several seemed to be completely demolished. The crest of the clan was visible throughout the buildings, most of them cracked in one place or another. He roamed through the streets, his mind numb as he allowed his senses to take in the surroundings. It was a desolate, lonely place, completely void of any signs of life. It was hard to imagine that this place had once been so full of people, people who cared.

He let out a frustrated grunt as he stumbled through the doorway of what was left of his house. The roof was gone, leaving a maze of walls that were slowly crumbling due to time. He entered what used to be his room and sighed, looking at the blank walls. There was no use in staying here any longer; it would only bring down his mood even more.

As he left the house and headed into the main streets, he felt a slight flicker of life. It was so brief, he thought he imagined it. Still, years of training had allowed him to perfect his chakra tracking abilities and he knew there had been a presence, even if it was just for a fraction of a second. His head turned toward the direction he'd felt the energy coming from, but there was nothing that stood out.

With a slight shrug, he continued walking, but made sure to be more aware of what was going on around him. The feel of a chakra other than his own penetrated his sense again and he froze. It felt so familiar, yet he couldn't recognize who it belonged to. The only thing he knew was that he was definitely not alone.

He concentrated for a moment, trying to detect the chakra and gauge how strong it was. It was fluctuating at a rapid speed, as if whoever it belonged to was playing a game with him. Well, if it was a game, he'd have to play along, wouldn't he?

Without warning, he dashed behind a building, his movements so fluid that it was impossible to follow him with the naked eye. He sensed the foreign chakra, now unmasked, as whoever it belonged to knew they had been exposed, rise slightly and move towards him. How could they find him so easily? He had one of the best chakra controls, another result of his years of harsh training.

He felt the presence closing in on him and he shifted to his left, moving slowly along the building, pressing his back against the bricks. He felt all movement freeze for a moment, then, out of nowhere, the building he was leaning against exploded into a million pieces. He leapt forward to avoid the harshest of the impact, but still landed quite painfully on the floor.

Immediately, his mind set to work, analyzing the direction of the attack and its possible causes. It felt like a punch, as if someone had punched the building and shattered it into pieces. But normal people couldn't do that. Even most shinobi couldn't. He knew that he sure as hell couldn't.

As he quickly scanned the area around him, he noticed that the chakra had increased immensely. Almost tenfold. It was weird that someone with such power would be roaming around in a place like this, but he supposed that anyone with such power was weird in the first place.

He jumped to his feet and backed up, surveying the area and taking note of possible places that gave him the advantage. Whatever, or whoever, had knocked the building down was nowhere in sight, and the chakra had disappeared.

Feeling a bit calmer, he continued walking, searching for any traces of another being. It was strange; it felt as if none of what had just happened even took place. The building was crumbled, but other than that, the same eerie calmness had settled over the place again.

He shuddered inwardly, but kept an emotionless face, eyes darting around once in a while. The feeling of chakra appeared once again and he froze, looking around suspiciously. He slid the sword out of its sheath and held it firmly, moving into a defensive stance.

A flash of pink blurred in front of him and less than a second later, he felt the ground explode under him. _Shit_. He lost his balance from the powerful impact and stumbled back, shuffling his feet so that he could regain his position quickly. The pink had disappeared and he frowned slightly, trying to decide if it had been a person or a weapon.

Really, he didn't believe it could be either. What kind of weapon was pink? And who would wear pink? It was too obvious a color and easily marked a shinobi as a target. As he hurried along the streets, almost running, he felt the chakra signal move further away from him. He could tell the enemy was running from him, but he wasn't willing to let it go so easily.

Putting on an extra burst of speed, he hurried forward, quickly catching up. He blinked once and red filled his eyes, the sharingan ready to track the enemy. There was a subtle movement to his left and he detected the same trace of chakra. His eyes focused on the origin of this chakra and then, with incredible accuracy, he leapt, landing on his enemy.

He had returned his sword to its holder while he was running and now had two kunai drawn, pointed at the throat of the enemy he'd just caught. When his mind finally registered who it was, a sudden shock ran through him and he froze, his grip on the weapons loosening.

The person under him took this opportunity to flip around and shove him harshly away from her, drawing out several weapons of her own. He managed to keep all emotion from showing upon his well-carved features, but the thumping of his heart had increased rapidly and his breath was becoming shallower.

_Could it really be her?_ Hair the color of cherry-blossoms, eyes the color of polished jade.

He blinked quickly to focus his mind on the situation at hand, but it was too late. Because of his stupor, the other shinobi had cornered him into a wall, weapons drawn in one hand and pointed dangerously at him, a glow of chakra that could easily take his life in the other.

"Sakura", he said her name quietly, almost a groan.

"What are you doing here?" she was unaffected by his voice.

The last time they'd seen each other, it was around Orochimaru's hideout. That had been years ago, and so much had happened.

"I'm home. Isn't that what you've always wanted?" his voice was mocking, confident despite the situation he was in.

He noticed that her eyes no longer held the adoration she'd once had for him; they were now dull, lifeless. She still pointed her kunai at him, struggling to keep herself under control.

"Why?" it was a whisper that brushed his ears lightly.

"You're angry", he ignored her question, "You hate me. Why not just kill me now?"

"Answer me!" she shouted.

"You can't do it, can you?" his voice was calm, smooth, deep, "you can't kill me. You don't have enough hate".

"I can", her eyes looked at him, determined.

"No", he let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head slightly, "I know you, Sakura. You've grown. You've become so incredible that I often heard of you during my travels. But I still know you. And I know what you're capable of".

She growled angrily and pressed the metal blade to his throat, drawing a slight trickle of blood.

"Do it then", he murmured in response, "it's not like I have a purpose anymore. Itachi's been killed. I never got to avenge my clan and there's nothing left for me to do. Years of traveling the lands, hoping I could learn something, find something to help fill the void". He didn't know why he was suddenly telling her everything, but it just poured out and he couldn't help it.

"Why didn't you come back if there was nothing left?" the blade was still pressed against his throat, but her tone had softened considerably.

He scoffed in reply. "How could I?"

"They would have forgiven you. You could have proved your worthiness to the Hokage, and eventually, you would have lived a normal life again". She sounded regretful.

"Normal? Is that what happened to this place?" there was just a trace of sarcasm in his reply.

"You don't know how your brother died, do you?" she retorted bitterly, "he died here, in Konoha, in his own village. He did this. He did all of this!"

She was motioning wildly to the destruction around them, her eyes frantic as they searched his for some comprehension, some understanding. "He killed everyone! He made this place what it is today", she sounded like she could start crying at any moment.

"Then why are you still here?" he asked tonelessly.

"I survived", the loudness in her voice had disappeared as the traumatic events rushed into her mind, clouding her memories.

"_You_ killed him", it wasn't a question. He knew from their little "fight" earlier that she possessed the power to do so.

She didn't reply. Her grip on the weapon had, over this short period of time, loosened. Blood was no longer flowing down his neck, but a puddle had already collected at his collarbone, staining his white shirt red.

"You _killed_ him!" his voice was more demanding this time, more accusing.

"HE killed everyone else! And you weren't here!" she yelled back.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" he couldn't get over the fact that someone was stronger than Itachi and he couldn't get over the fact that this girl in front of him, his former teammate and admirer, had killed his brother.

"Sasuke", she said his name for the first time, the affectionate "-kun" suffix no longer attached. It sounded like a plea, "Sasuke, I know his death was your goal, but I _had_ to", her voice was gentle and he saw a bit of the twelve-year-old Sakura shine through her façade.

His heart had hardened during the training he'd endure with Orochimaru and the traveling he'd done, but he could feel a trickle of emotion escaping him. A strange sort of aching pelted through his body and he felt an urge to comfort, to push away the weapon she held against him and wrap his arms around her. It was an unfamiliar feeling and he hated the newness of it.

"Why are you here now?" he asked her, trying to distract himself.

"This is still my home. I've been living in the Sand, but I come back often just to… just to see things".

"Things", he repeated the vague word.

"I want to kill you", her words surprised him, "I need to kill you. You're a traitor to Konoha".

"There is no Konoha", he reminded her.

"You left us all", the blade was pressed against his throat again, "I have to kill you".

"But _can_ you do it?" he doubted she had it in her to really kill him, "C'mon, Sakura, do it".

She narrowed her eyes at him and pressed the kunai tighter against him, drawing more blood. It was becoming painful now, and the amount of blood he was losing was increasing. Still, his dark eyes mocked her, daring her to take the plunge.

"_Kill me_", he whispered.

She stuck half the blade through his throat, creating a deep gash. It wasn't enough to kill him yet, but it brought him near death. His vision faded and the girl in front of him became a blur of pink. _She's really doing it, _he thought. _That was unexpected._

As more blood poured out of him, he saw the world around him become hazy, muddled, dark. _I'm really dying_. _Maybe it's for the best. I have no reason to live any longer._

His eyes closed; he felt like he was falling, falling deep. The consciousness was slipping away from him, his mind went blank.

Then, a light.

It was a small light at first, then slowly grew larger, brighter. His eyes flashed open in a painful movement and he quickly shut them again. Then, slowly, cautiously, he blinked open one eye.

There was pink in front of him. A throbbing pain was noticeable at his throat, but otherwise, he didn't feel injured. Wasn't he supposed to be dead? A quiet sobbing grew louder and a few wet droplets landed on his cheek. The burning sensation from his wound was slowing disappearing, replaced by a soft, comfortable flow that felt like… chakra.

The crying grew louder and turned into heart wrenching sobs. He had a fleeting feeling of déjà vu and then he vaguely remembered, many, many years ago, on their first real mission, where he had almost died, then woken to find a crying Sakura sprawled over him. But this time, she wasn't just laying helplessly over him; she was healing him, sending her comforting chakra through his body.

Wait, she was _healing_ him?

"You're right", she murmured when she saw that he was conscious.

He couldn't speak, but his eyes looked at her questioningly, urging her to explain.

"I couldn't do it. You're right, ok?" she struggled with her tears.

He sighed, satisfied. His life would be spared this time.

"We'll return to the Sand. The major damage is almost healed", she continued, knowing he couldn't say anything at the moment. He nodded once to show acknowledgement, then closed his eyes.

He could still feel the pressure of her hands along his throat, her fingers sliding gently back and forth as she pushed her healing chakra into him. He let out a grunt when she hit a rather tender spot and heard a soft gasp escape a moment later. She almost murmured an apology out of habit, but bit her lips and kept her mouth shut.

Her fingers had now completed their work and he felt much less pain, although there was still a dull throbbing somewhere in the neck area. He knew normal weapons couldn't create a wound like this- she had to have done something to that kunai. Posion? Or maybe it was some medical jutsu that he had very little knowledge of. Either way, he knew that she could heal him, that he was safe in her hands. Ironic, really, that he felt he could trust her after she'd just stabbed him. Very ironic.

He felt his body being shifted to a sitting position, her arms carefully supporting him. Her hands traveled along the side of his throat, checking once again to make sure he wasn't in any immediate danger. Then, she lifted him to his feet with surprising strength and leaned his body on hers, throwing one of his arms over her shoulder so that she supported his weight.

He was shocked at the speed she could move at while his body slowed her down; how strong was this... kunochi? He couldn't even call her a girl anymore- she'd changed so much. He marveled at her new abilities, at how much she'd grown. And it wasn't just her physical strength either. She'd become more mature, more confident, and he knew that her little breakdown right before she'd stabbed him was a spur of the moment thing.

He may not have known too much about her current life, but he knew enough to know that in the end, he was still capable of bringing out certain things in her. This piece of knowledge was something he valued- it was almost like an advantage.

She was unaware of his thoughts, as she led them at a rather brisk pace towards the edge of the village. He dared to take a look at her face, to see her expression. It was one of utmost concentration, her eyes glaring forward. She seemed angry, and he had several guesses as to why. It could have been that she was angry at him for everything he'd done. Or maybe she was angry that he dared to show up after all this time. Could it be that she was angry at herself? Was she angry because she couldn't really kill him?

Sasuke decided to let it drop. There was no use wondering such trivial things, and he was sure she wouldn't just tell him if he asked. He let his head droop slightly and stared at the ground, concentrating on taking one step after another. This wasn't getting anywhere.

He had wandered into his old village just for the heck of it, not expecting to see anyone here. Of course he knew it was destroyed- he'd heard stories and rumors although his travels, but he'd never heard that it was done by Itachi. You'd think something that important would definitely be included in the stories that were circulated, but every time someone had explained what happened to Konoha, they made it sound like the village just sort of collapsed on itself. He scoffed. That just showed how untrue rumors could be.

Before he could think any more, he realized that they'd stopped. Warily, he lifted his head and looked up to see an immense spread of forest in front of them. Well, technically, it was the same forest he'd gone through to get to Konoha, but for some reason, it felt like an altogether new forest at this moment.

"We have to walk", Sakura murmured softly. Her tone showed she was tolerant of him, but that he was still the enemy at this moment. "It'll take a few days".

"Ok", he complied.

They trudged off towards the forest and he managed to twist his head back a little, so that he could see the remains of Konoha. From here, it looked like a large pile of rubble. Broken, desolate, empty. And he had to admit that he didn't feel too different.

* * *

So, this was originally supposed to be an oneshot, but I realized it has some potential to become multi-chaptered, although if it did, it'd only be a couple chapters. I just want to know, is it better that this story ends here? Or should there be more? And if there were more, in what direction would the plot go? 


	2. Chapter 2

OMG! Haha. Just read the newest Naruto manga where Itachi tells Sasuke about the Mangayouke's secrets. HOLY COW, that was a cool chapter! And, it pretty much messes up my plot, but, whatever. This is called "fanfiction" for a reason.

So, yeah, I've decided to continue this story, just for a bit, due to popular demand. Haha, I even got a private message! Isn't that cool? Anyways, here goes…

* * *

Their first day of traveling passed by smoothly, with very little conversation. In fact, the only thing they did was walk, rest, walk some more. Sakura seemed much calmer than she had been earlier and Sasuke figured he had no reason to worry that she would turn psycho on him. That was, until it became dark and they had to set up camp for the night. 

They were both familiar with this part of the forest, since they'd traveled here in their earlier days, and both knew that, had some sort of fight erupted between them, Sakura would have the upper hand. Thus, Sasuke was extremely paranoid as Sakura left him resting against a tree and began starting a fire, acting all too composed for his tastes.

All his life, he'd only known liars and traitors, and habit caused him to classify the pink haired kunoichi as one too. She hadn't really given him reason to suspect anything, but he couldn't help it. As he leaned against the tree trunk, watching her move about the flicker fire and adding branches to the pile, several explanations for her behavior ran through his head.

_She was calm because she knew he was no threat to her. Or maybe, she was calm because she knew something he didn't. Maybe she'd sent for people without him knowing, maybe she had been lying to him all along. Maybe Konoha hadn't really been destroyed by his brother. _He couldn't tell what truth was anymore and his head hurt from all the thinking.

"Sasuke?" her curious voice broke through his silent ramblings and when he looked up, into her bright green eyes, lit by the firelight, one last thought ran through his head._ Maybe she'd been genuine in everything she'd told him, in all her actions._ Her eyes sure seemed to suggest that.

"Hn?"

"Can you walk?"

He nodded.

"Come by the fire, then. We're going to eat, then rest for the night".

He nodded again.

They sat beside the fire, gazing into the flickering flames as Sakura handed him a portion of the food she'd brought with her.

"What are you thinking about?" she initiated the conversation, wanting to hear his response.

"The food rationings", his replied tonelessly, "You prepared enough supplies for one person, not two".

"But I also prepared to stay longer", her tone matched his, "you cut my trip short".

"What were you doing out here?" he really was curious.

"I don't know".

He scoffed at her lame reply.

"I come out here once in a while because I start missing everything", she added after a while.

"What's to miss?" he knew he wasn't able to comprehend the feelings she had, because he'd never really had a home to miss.

"The people", she began softly, her voice slowly rising, "the places, the missions, the friendship and the bonds. Everything".

"Those don't last anyways", his tone was dead, unfeeling.

"Not for you, I guess", her voice had dimmed to a whisper and her eyes were focused on the fire before her, as if she were speaking to the flames.

He had no reply for this comment and they fell silent, watching the fire dance until their weariness grew so much they had no choice but to rest.

* * *

A stretch of desert met the edge of the forest, miles upon miles of golden sand, with the sunlight reflecting off of the small grains so that everything glittered. The first steps they took were refreshing, different from the dull forest floor they'd been traveling on for the past two days. The sand sank beneath their sandals, and a few small grains jumped onto their feet with each step. 

Sasuke had healed considerably within the two days and Sakura was slightly surprised at his progress. She'd admitted that the kunai used on him was injected with dangerous chakra, which worked by blocking each of the chakra points in a person's body. It wasn't the cut in his neck she had been worried about; it was the gradual weakening of his body caused by loss of chakra flow.

But now, as they neared the Hidden Village of the Sand, Sasuke was quickly gaining strength and Sakura had a slight fear that he would turn on her. They approached the tall cliffs that surrounded the village and headed for the narrow crack, which lead into the heart of the Sand. The shinobi guards recognized Sakura from a distant by her uniquely pink hair, and were surprised that she'd returned so early. As they got closer, they were even more shocked to see the infamous Uchiha leaning on her for support.

"Please inform Gaara-sama that I've returned and that I would like to speak with him shortly", Sakura instructed as she passed by the guards. They obeyed speechlessly, sending a messenger hawk to the kazekage.

Sakura led Sasuke to a relatively remote area of the village and brought him to a small hut, leading him inside. The interior was much larger than anyone would have guessed it could be just by looking out the outside. It consisted of a nice, cozy room that led to a hallway with three doors- two of which led to bedrooms and the third, to a restroom.

Sasuke was brought to the door near the back and Sakura prompted him in, pointing to one of the beds. He entered the hospital-like room and sat down awkwardly, watching his former teammate move about the room, gathering what looked like advanced medical supplies.

"What are you doing?" he asked after a while. He'd been silent and somewhat obedient all this time, so he felt he deserved some answers.

"Healing you", she answered simply.

"Why?" he felt healed already, although he had to admit his actions were rather weak at the moment.

"Just because you can't see the extent of your injuries doesn't mean they don't exist", she told him wearily, "do you really think that just a wound to the neck would have you near death?"

He grunted in response and made himself comfortable on the bed, waiting as Sakura finished grabbing a few herbs and setting them on a stand beside the bed.

"Lay down", she ordered.

She began working immediately, drawing out a visible string of chakra from her palms and placing it against several points along his neck.

"This is where the damage is most serious", she explained softly, her eyes trained on her hands.

She traced a finger down his neck, along his collarbone, then moved it towards one shoulder and followed the path down his arm. As she pushed chakra into each part of his body, Sasuke could feel the tension slip away. The dull pain he had endured for the past two days faded away and he relaxed against the bed, letting out a sigh as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Drink this", Sakura handed him a tiny bottle filled with a thick, brown liquid and helped him sit up, watching as he swallowed the contents in one gulp.

"Lay back down", she ordered again, taking the bottle from him and setting it down. Sakura moved to the other side of the bed and repeated her motions, tracing her fingers down Sasuke's other arm until her fingers met with his.

"Where else does it hurt?" she asked, looking down.

"My…back".

"I thought so", she sighed, "the back is easily affected because of the spinal cord".

He turned onto his front and breathed into the pillow, closing his eyes as he felt Sakura slip off the shirt he was wearing. He felt her place her hands on his upper back, her smooth palms gently rubbing against him as she ran a stream of healing chakra through him. Slowly, she eased her hands along his back, until his entire upper body had relaxed and every chakra point was opened again.

He didn't move after she announced that she was finished and for a moment, she thought he had fallen asleep. But when she reached out to poke him, he shifted slightly in the bed and Sakura quickly drew back.

"We have to go see the Kazekage", she told him, "get up".

He did as he was told, while silently wondering why he was going along so smoothly with everything. Had it been such a long time that he'd had real human contact, that he was aching to make the most of it, even if it meant obeying every little thing? Or was it simply because, somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew the strength Sakura possessed and was afraid to test it at this moment, in his current state? Or did he feel indebted to her because she'd saved him from death? Well, actually, she would have been the cause of his death as well, so that probably wasn't it.

He continued to think about this as he followed her out the door, down the streets of the village, and into the tower that led to the Kazekage's office. Sakura knocked twice, two short, sharp raps against the wood, and a voice sounded from inside.

"Come in".

Sasuke was surprised to hear Gaara's voice and even more surprised, when the door opened, to see him sitting in a seat facing the door, looking quite comfortable.

"Gaara-sama", Sakura lowered her head.

"Is that… _Uchiha Sasuke_?" Gaara's eyes narrowed suspiciously and a layer of sand immediately began swirling around him.

"I found him in the ruins of Konoha", Sakura explained in a low voice.

"You _found_ him?" Gaara turned to look at her. She shrugged, not really willing to explain in full detail what had happened.

"He's a traitor", she ignored the question.

"You're right", Gaara looked at Sasuke, and the Uchiha could tell that the young kazekage was reluctant to do anything to him. But still, rules were rules. "You will be under strict surveillance and allowed limited contact with the villagers. Should you try to break out, our shinobi will – "

"You have no right to do anything to me", Sasuke interrupted, "I am not of this village and therefore, I am not a traitor. Konoha doesn't exist anymore. I can do whatever I want". He turned to leave, but a trail of sand had wound its way around him and he froze, unable to move his own body.

"This is for your own good, Sasuke", Sakura murmured quietly as he glared at her, his eyes accusing her of betrayal.

"Why would you bring a traitor here and _heal_ him before turning him in?" he spat bitterly, "why not just let me die?"

Sakura didn't reply, but she seemed to be thinking hard, as if searching for an answer. Several guards entered the room and grabbed Sasuke, dragging him out the door. As he passed Sakura, she whispered, so quietly that only he could hear, "I didn't want you to die".

* * *

The cell was surprisingly comfortable, so much so, that he couldn't really consider himself a prisoner. It was more like a small room, complete with a real bed, table, and even a window that allowed him to see outside. He suspected that he'd received milder treatment only because Sakura had pulled some strings and he knew he had that to be thankful for. 

Still, he blamed her for brining him here, for stabbing him, healing him, then turning him in. And he blamed himself for not being strong enough to defend himself. How could he have slipped up? How could he have lowered his guard so much, that she could even get close enough to stab him?

He was getting weak, yes, that was it. Without the motivation to chase after Itachi, to become stronger every day, he had lost his purpose to live. He hadn't bothered to keep up with such rigorous training after he'd heard of Itachi's death. Instead, he had spent the time just traveling, exploring, seeing, feeling, thinking, searching. Searching for something to make him satisfied, something that could serve as a goal for him to work towards.

Obviously, he'd found nothing that could compare to the hate he had for his brother and in the end, he'd eventually wound up in Konoha, then in this mess. But, he supposed, looking at the bright side, that this was something new for him to explore, to learn from. Maybe he could find something out of this.

The door to his room clicked open and a guard entered, setting food onto the table. Sasuke stole a glance out the window and saw the end of the sunset. That must mean this food was for dinner. He sighed and walked over to the table, picking up the tray as the guard left the room and locked the door. He brought it over to his bed and began eating, barely tasting the food as he stared outside.

It had been a week since he first set foot in this room- he'd been keeping track by making small markings along the edge of the table with a sharp piece of rock he'd found on the floor. Seven days, and he was starting to feel like he would lose it soon.

What he couldn't understand was why they were keeping him in here. So far, he hadn't noticed anyone observing him, or even guarding him. He hadn't really tried to look outside his room, so he wasn't actually sure if there were guards stationed outside or not, but he had yet to feel any significant chakra signatures. Just what were these people planning?

What surprised him even more was that he had complied with everything. He was angry, of course, that these people acted as if they could do anything they wanted to him, but for some reason, he hadn't bothered to fight back. He realized that in all this time, he hadn't thought about escaping or attacking one of the guards who brought his meals. He'd become more docile, easier to control. What the heck was wrong with him?

And then there was Sakura. He hadn't seen her once in all this time and although he didn't expect her to visit him or anything, part of him was slightly surprised that she didn't seem to care what he was up to. What happened to the girl who used to adore him? He felt as if the roles had switched over time, as if she was now constantly on his mind instead of the other way around.

Concerning her, he was mostly curious. He'd only been able to see a fraction of her skills, mostly from when they fought, then a little more when she healed him. But he knew he had no idea of her full capacity and the need to know was constantly nagging at him. Maybe if he was on his best behavior, he would be allowed to spar with her? Nah.

Sasuke pushed the stupid thoughts from his mind and cleared his head, then looked down at the tray in front of him. He'd finished his food without even noticing that he was eating. This was surely a sign that he was losing his mind. He sighed and tossed the tray aside, then glanced out the window. Normally, he just stared at the sky, mostly to track the position of the sun to find out what time of day it was, but now, he was focusing his vision on the streets below.

His room was held rather high, in a tall building near the center of the village. He guessed that the height was to keep him from jumping out, but he really couldn't care less. He watched as the people below moved about the streets, tending to their everyday business. A few vendors were still opened, although most of them had gone home for the day, as it was nearing night. He watched silently as a mother and her son walked to one of the stands, bought a dango, then walked off, the little boy much happier than before.

He sighed. He'd never had an opportunity to do something like that.

A knock sounded at the door and Sasuke froze, feeling as if something was out of place. His mind quickly worked out the reason and he realized that no one ever knocked before- the food deliverer simply opened the door and set down the tray- and no one came at this time of day.

"Come in", he kept his voice polite, careful, wary.

"Hey", Sakura poked her head into the room and smiled a cautious smile. He glanced at her, then turned away. A sudden rush of bitterness had come over him, although he didn't really know why.

"The Kazekage wants to speak with you", she continued, not really paying attention to his lack of response.

"About what?" he asked dully.

"I-I'm not sure, actually. He wants to make some sort of negotiation with you… can you just come, please?" her tone changed suddenly and she sounded like they were kids again, with her demanding personality ordering him and Naruto around. Sasuke shuddered involuntarily at the memory, then stood up and followed her out of the room.

As they made their way down the hall, Sasuke noticed that there wasn't really any precautions put up around him. Sakura was the only other person with him- no guards or anyone else. And, to top it off, she was walking in front of him, with her back turned, guard down. There were so many openings, so many easy ways for him to escape. Yet, he didn't even bother to attempt anything.

He was partly curious; curious to know what Gaara had in mind for him, and he was partly, for lack of better word, lazy. He didn't want to bother with trying to escape, barely getting out, then having to start wandering again. It was as if he wanted to settle down.

They approached the same doors that Sakura had led him to a week earlier and she knocked again, the same, sharp knock. Sasuke guessed it was some sort of code that signified it was Sakura at the door. Maybe she had some position or power he didn't know about.

They entered the room and Sasuke stared as Gaara looked up from his desk, a grimace on his features.

"Uchiha Sasuke", his voice was tired, "I have a bargain to strike with you".

"What is it?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"The Sand Village has received a request to send out a highly skilled squad of four shinobi to a top secret mission".

"And?"

"And, as much as your previous behavior has prompted me not to trust you, we have a shortage of high-ranked shinobi at the moment".

"So you _need_ me to go on this mission?" Sasuke's disrespectful tone caused Gaara look up and the two glared at each other for a moment before Gaara began speaking again.

"The only reason I even considered allowing you to participate in this mission was because Sakura vouched for you. As a result, she is going on the mission as well, as the medic-nin in the squad, and to keep an eye on you".

"What makes you think I want to do anything for you?" Sasuke challenged.

"If this mission ends in success, you are free to leave our surveillance. If you wish it, we will provide you with housing here and you can continue you life as a shinobi, participating in missions and earning a living".

"And if I fail?"

"In this particular mission, failure results in death, not because we bring it upon you, but because of the danger of the mission. And if you choose not to be a part of the squad, you'll return to the cell you were in and stay there. Indefinitely".

"I'll take it", Sasuke decided. Anywhere was better than being stuck in that stupid room.

"Very well. Sakura", Gaara turned to the kunoichi, who had been standing silently in the room, "He is now under your orders and your watch. Do as you please".

Sakura nodded and left the room, Sasuke reluctantly following after her. As they walked back to the room Sasuke had been in earlier, he took the chance to fire questions at her.

"You _knew_ what it was going to be about", he accused her, "This was all your idea. I don't need you help and I don't need your pity".

"How do you know I did anything for _you_?" Sakura shot back, anger pulsing through her. _Stupid, self-centered…bastard._

"Then what was that all about?" he retorted, sounding just as angry.

"I did it because we really need a member like you on the squad", they'd reached the room and Sakura paused at the door, grasping the handle with both hands, "I may not know exactly what you're capable of at the moment, but I know enough to know that you would be a great asset to this mission".

"So that was the reason?" Sasuke mused quietly.

"And", Sakura took a deep breath, "I didn't want you to be locked up in that room. Not for you, but for my sake".

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Nothing", she waved away his question and prompted him into the room, ordering him to make any necessary preparations and meet at the entrance of the village in an hour. Then, without another word, Sakura swiftly left the room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

They'd been traveling for at least a day now, and Sasuke had yet to learn a single thing about the mission he was on. The two other members of the squad spoke only to Sakura and didn't reveal anything about themselves. Sakura was even more secretive, not even bothering to tell Sasuke exactly what they were going to do. He was left in the dark and he hated it more than ever. 

As they reached a clearing in the forest, Sakura halted and held out a hand, signaling for the others to slow down and raise their guard.

"We're being tracked", she whispered, her eyes darting around suspiciously.

"On the left", one of the shinobi on the squad, who had a unique shade of dark green hair and creepy, gray-green eyes, motioned to an area of the forest beyond them. Sasuke could only guess that this guy had eyes with some power unknown to him... maybe something like the sharingan?

He turned on his own eyes and looked around, surveying the area, but found nothing suspicious.

"We have to throw them off", Sakura murmured quietly, "we need to split up".

"There's a large cave 300 meters from here, in the south-east direction", the same shinobi with the gray-green eyes announced.

_He must have eyes similar to the byakugan_, Sasuke thought, studying the shinobi who'd just spoken.

"We'll meet there, then", Sakura decided, "You two take the route to the east. Sasuke and I will go from the south".

They split up and Sasuke hurried after Sakura, jumping from branch to branch as she sped ahead of him. From a distance, the pink in her hair and the red outfit she wore reminded him of the young Sakura, and he felt a bit of yearning in him. He yearned for the old days, when he'd first become a genin, and things were much simpler. True, he still thought of going after Itachi, but back then, it'd all seemed like something for the far future.

It surprised him how quickly time moved. Now, Itachi was gone and he felt as if a part of his life had died.

"Hurry up", Sakura's voice broke into his thoughts and his head snapped up. In the distance, they could see the cave that they were to meet at, although the other two on their squad had not yet arrived.

"We'll wait here", Sakura murmured, walking into the cave. Sasuke trailed in behind her and sat down near the entrance, watching the area around them for any movement. Sakura had wandered into the back of the cave, leaving him in silence.

"Sakura?" her name came our hoarsely; he wasn't used to calling her.

No reply.

"Sakura", he repeated her name, "there's something out there".

Still no reply.

"Sakura!" Sasuke hissed, alarm ringing through his voice as he watched massive areas of the forest- trees, to be precise- explode into pieces. Something with an immense amount of energy and power was attacking and he had no idea what to do.

It wasn't that he didn't know _how_ to react; he just didn't know what he was really allowed to do, and the fact that his teammate had disappeared wasn't helping. She had never given him any details about the mission, but something made him feel like whatever was blowing up the forest was part of this mission that he was on.

"Sakura!" he tried again, yelling her name into the cave.

"I know, I know!" her reply finally came back, bouncing of the cave walls. A moment later, she emerged and stood beside him, watching the trees topple over, until part of the forest disappeared.

Sasuke looked at her, studying her expression carefully, and found it to be one of hurt, guilt, pity. Wasn't she supposed to be a shinobi? And wasn't this thing supposed to be the enemy? But, she'd looked as if she wanted to side with whatever was attacking the forest, and that she wanted to somehow help it. _What the hell was going on?_

"What is that thing?" he demanded, staring at Sakura until she had no choice but to meet his eyes. He was shocked to see that her bright green eyes, usually so strong and determined, were tear-filled.

"Sas-Sasuke", her lips quivered and her words came out in fragments, "I-I lied to you".

He didn't reply, but his eyes urged her to go on.

"N-not everyone in Konoha d-died", a tear slipped down her cheek, but she continued, "t-the other survivor s-saw that Itachi had d-died and he immediate thought of y-you and what your life would t-turn into you. S-so he went to search for you. He r-ran away to search for y-you, but with n-no one to keep him in check, h-he turned into a monster".

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke was thoroughly confused, "who was the survivor?"

"T-that's the survivor", Sakura pointed to the invisible force that was destroying the forest and coming closer towards the cave.

"What?'

"Th-this mission, Sasuke, is j-just for us. We s-split up so the other two shinobi could r-return safely. Our mission is t-to find the monster a-and return him to his h-human form, then b-bring him home".

"Why?"

"B-because it's the kyuubi's form with five tails, Sasuke. B-because it's Naruto".


	3. Chapter 3

YAY! UPDATE! Uh… this took a while, but hey, I wasn't even planning on continuing this thing, and yet, I still did. So…enjoy!

A/N: Anything that says "beast", "fox", "monster", "kyuubi"… means Naruto. Because, remember, he's in his crazy psycho demon fox chakra form right now, so it just sort of seemed to fit to refer to him as something other than human.

* * *

The cave floor crumbled beneath them and Sasuke had no time to react to the information that his mind was still unsuccessfully trying to process. _Naruto? The Kyuubi? _

"Sasuke!"

He looked up as Sakura's voice, full of panic, rang through the air. The tears had disappeared from her eyes in an instant and she now looked alert, ready to spring to action. The form of the kyuubi was visible now, its massive body thrashing against the walls of the cave. It seemed to be going straight for Sasuke and he could easily tell that his speed, as fast as he was, would be no match for the monster.

"You can't fight him!" Sakura cried out as he drew a kunai.

"He's not conscious of this, is he?!" Sasuke yelled back as he jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being clawed in the head.

Sakura frantically shook her head in reply.

"We have to get out of here!" she was already scrambling to one side, carefully avoiding the five tails that swung wildly behind the beast.

"Go!" Sasuke was sure that, although the creature wasn't aware of its actions, it was at least conscious of the fact that he was a target. He knew Sakura was momentarily safe, as long as she stayed a good distance away from him.

"What are you planning?" Sakura yelled back. She was not about to leave her teammate alone so easily, especially when he was probably _this_ close to death, with the kyuubi so close.

"Just go!" Sasuke had managed to find a temporary spot of safety and Sakura could see the beginnings of a chidori form in his hand.

"No!" she screamed, utterly shocked at what he was planning to do, "you can't attack him!"

Sasuke ignored her warnings and quickly completed the jutsu, running forward in what looked like a dead-on charge toward Naruto. At the last second, his form vanished and he reappeared, behind the fox, slamming his fist into the back of the creature.

Sakura was in hysterics as she watched the battle before her. There was no way Sasuke could successfully turn Naruto back into a human by attacking him and there was no way that Naruto, no, the fox, when provoked, would hold back from attacking Sasuke.

"Stop it! Stop it!" she watched in horror as the glow of lightning chakra in Sasuke's fist sank into the Kyuubi's outer layer of skin, sizzled, and disappeared. Sasuke immediately jumped back, landing roughly on his feet as the ground exploded in front of him. The fox had turned around and his eyes looked furious, a mixture of a red and white glow covered by the swirling chakra leaking out of him.

"We have to get out of here!" Sakura caught an opening and rushed forward with an extra burst of speed, grabbing Sasuke and pulling him away until they were a safe distance from any immediate dangers.

"You have to listen to me!" she hissed. Sasuke tore his eyes away from the beast that was now roaming blindly on the opposite end of the forest and looked at Sakura, his eyes telling her that she had his full attention, that he demanded an explanation.

"Tell me", he said coolly.

"News of Naruto's whereabouts reached us a few days after you showed up", she began, tumbling over her words as she attempted to get them out all at once, "Sightings of a large beast with five tails in this area were reported a day before we began this mission. I suspected that it was Naruto, so I begged the kazekage to allow us to go on this mission. Including the day we spent to get here, he's been in that form for at least two days. Can you imagine the damage its doing to his body?"

Sasuke make a noise that sounded like a mixture of coughing and choking. Sakura sighed and continued.

"The seal that the Fourth Hokage put on him is weakening. From the stories I've heard, the nine-tails' chakra has escaped many times, but has only resulted in up to two tails. That means he's been conscious every time, so he was able to eventually suppress the chakra. But there's _five_ tails this time", she shuddered, "He's completely gone". The last time she'd seen Naruto like this, many years ago, he had four tails, and he'd hurt her immensely. But now, _five_?

"So we have to seal the chakra in?" Sasuke frowned and looked towards the direction of the thrashing beast, watching as the forest crumbled beside them. It appeared to be getting nearer, and more aggressive.

"That's… that's the general idea", Sakura replied weakly.

"But how?"

"The necklace that Naruto is wearing, you remember, don't you?"

Sasuke shrugged. He may have had a faint memory of such a trinket, but it wasn't something he ever paid attention to.

"That, combined with the First Hokage's jutsu, can seal the chakra back in", Sakura explained.

"Right", Sasuke said slowly, "and _where's_ the First Hokage?"

"I've been doing research with that. Captain Ya- well, this squad leader we once had, was the result of an experiment with the First Hokage's cells. He died in Konoha along with everyone else, but I've been able to reach a breakthrough recently that allowed me to incorporate the cells into my body. I can seal him in, Sasuke, but I need you to distract him".

"Distract him?" Sasuke echoed, looking at her strangely.

"I'm sure you've noticed. Even in his unconscious state of mind, Naruto is able to single you out as a target. It's because his desire to eventually bring you home", Sakura paused as she thought about the "promise of a lifetime" that Naruto had made to her, "…his desire to bring you home has made him…"

He understood. There was no need for her to explain anymore.

"Let's go", his voice was low, harsh, ready to fight.

Sakura looked at him with hopeful eyes and for just a fraction of a second, as Sasuke looked back, he caught a glimmer of the child Sakura staring back at him. But, there was no time for such things. He shook the image away and nodded at her.

She returned the gesture.

* * *

A wind swept into the room, causing the grains of sand around him to swirl and dance merrily. The afternoon air was calm, peaceful, but his mind was in chaos. He sat, his back pressed into the hard, stone chair, his arms resting tensely at his side. His two advisers sat beside him, glancing at him worriedly. They could sense that something was wrong with the kazekage. 

He'd just sent out the best medic in the village, and for what? Because she'd demanded it? Because she'd reasoned, then pleaded and begged? And, of course, he wasn't able to resist. He knew that as the kazekage, his word meant everything, and that he could easily have kept her from doing anything dangerous to her life. But he hadn't.

A knock sounded at the door and he looked up, then quietly murmured, "come in".

"Gaara-sama, the two shinobi who left with Team Sakura returned", a young messenger announced as he burst into the room, slightly short of breath.

Gaara sat up straighter in his chair, suddenly alert. The two advisers beside him tensed up as well. Something was wrong.

"And?" he prompted.

"And, they reported that on their way back, they could feel the entire forest tremble. They're sure that the kyuubi's chakra was present, and they estimated that at least four tails were out".

"At least four?" Gaara frowned. _Four?_ He'd heard the rumors of Jiraiya, one of the sannin, who had a scar across his chest to prove the power of four tails. What could Sakura and Sasuke do against something that Jiraiya had little chance of winning against?

"We have to dispatch a squad immediately to help them", one of the advisers spoke up.

"No", Gaara held up his hand.

"Kazekage-sama, the life of - "

"No".

Gaara looked firmly at his advisers. He normally listened to them, but this time was different. "Sakura specifically demanded that only she and Sasuke be sent out for this. She has her reasons".

"But-"

"And, we can't risk the lives of our shinobi for them".

No one had heard Gaara sound so decisive or stubborn before. There had to be something else they weren't aware of.

"What about their abilities, kazekage-sama? _Can _they handle this?" the other adviser asked.

"I have faith in Sakura and…" he paused to think about his next words, which, he had to admit, sounded quite unreasonable, "I have faith in Sasuke because Sakura has faith in him".

One of the advisors seemed to make a small coughing noise, but said nothing. Gaara sighed. As confident and reassuring as he sounded, Gaara couldn't even convince himself. Sakura _had_ informed him about the experiments she was conducting with the first Hokage's DNA and she'd given him all the details about her plan, but somehow, part of him still worried.

Losing Sakura meant losing a great asset to the entire Sand Village community. That was something he couldn't afford.

* * *

They were obviously at a disadvantage- two shinobi facing a giant beast that could easily take them out in one swipe. The only thing that kept them going was the series of forbidden jutsu that Sasuke had picked up on while hanging out at Orochimaru's. Sakura was shocked, at first, to see her old teammate use such dark powers with ease, appalled that he seemed to be so casual about it, but it finally registered in her mind that he really had changed. 

He was no longer the hard-working and determined young Sasuke, but an adult now, who had been turned into somewhat of a merciless killer. She was dazed as she watched Sasuke dart in and out of the Kyuubi's range, seal after seal flowing from his fingers. None of them were recognizable to her eyes.

She heard a thud on one side and whirled around, to see two trees tumble to the ground. She could vaguely hear the noises from the fight between her two teammates as she struggled to concentrate. The preparations for the jutsu she was about to perform would take time- and a lot of it, too.

Sakura crouched behind a rock, then slipped out a needle from her pack. She quickly stabbed it into her arm, injecting herself with a liquid that contained cells from the first Hokage. A small drop of blood slid along her arm as she yanked out the needle, and she quickly clamped a hand over it. The injection had been the easy part- what was about to come would be many times worse.

She had only tested her experiment once- on herself. It had been a success, but she'd gone through hell for it. The results led to a week of pain- random spasms where she'd injected herself, ice cold body temperature, followed by a general weakness of the immune system. Afterwards, she had developed something to stop the effects of the cells, but it was still a risk. She'd debated long and hard about whether she would ever use the injection again, but after seeing Sasuke, after seeing a glimmer of hope, she decided she would use it. If everything worked according do plan, then the pain would be well worth it.

The initial pain from the needle disappeared almost immediately, only to be replaced by a sharp, pulsing pain that quickly spread throughout her body. It was a sign that her injection was working.

Her cells were fusing with those of the first Hokage's, allowing all of the jutsus he had once known to be passed down to her. It was only temporary, but that was all she needed. Sakura grasped the rock as the pain overtook her. She struggled to stay upright, to resist curling up into a ball on the floor.

Her body shook with the pain, but she endured it, trying to distract herself by listening to the fight only a leaps length away from her. It would take a few minutes for the formula to fully have effect, and while she waited, she would be in her most vulnerable state.

She could hear Sasuke exerting all the effort he had, could hear the jutsus that seemed to erupt from him, could feel the energy that radiated from him. Sakura groaned and squeezed her eyes shut, her right hand clenching her left arm, where the injection had been. A massive tornado of thoughts and emotions flowed through her. She felt physically sick- slightly dizzy and ready to vomit as her body adapted to the injected cells. And she felt mentally sick- guilt struck at her as she thought of Sasuke, facing the beast alone.

As much as Sasuke had hurt her in the past, had hurt all of them, and as much as he was still the same asshole right now, she just couldn't get past her feelings for him. She hadn't wanted to put him at any risk, even though she knew he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. She had thought about this so-called "mission" for quite a while, actually, but had finally decided that had they switched places and she were Sasuke, she would have wanted the chance to save a teammate.

The time passed slowly, but the pain did fade away to a dull ache. Discomfort pulsated through her body, but it was bearable now. She was almost ready to seal in the demon fox's chakra; the only thing she needed was to find an opening.

Sakura emerged from behind the rock and made sure Sasuke had a clear view of her, so that he could react to her signal. She watched intently as a swirl of lightning chakra exploded beside the demon fox, then saw Sasuke jump back in defense. The fox followed him, blundering its way through the forest as Sasuke began leaping from tree to tree.

After studying his movements for a few seconds or so, Sakura caught on to what Sasuke was trying to do and quickly followed after them. By moving strategically through the trees, alternating directions on every other branch, Sasuke was leading the fox to move in circles. His goal was to make the fox lose balance, so that it would be easier for Sakura to approach them.

She chased after the pair, landing on the trees that Sasuke jumped off of. They were leading the beast into a clearing, and Sakura knew that once they reached it, she would have to act immediately. There was no room for mistakes. No time for hesitation.

The fox entered the clearing, still focused on Sasuke, and Sakura immediately jumped out, moving her fingers quickly to perform the hand seals that would allow her to execute the jutsu on the fox. As her fingers came together for the last seal, a sudden spasm shot through her arm and she almost collapsed, losing balance and falling off the tree.

Sasuke saw this, but couldn't do anything to help her. The fox was still focused on him, and any movement towards her direction would bring harm to both of them. _C'mon, get up, get up_. He fled to the safety of another tree branch as the fox took a swipe at him. Sakura was slowly climbing to her feet, grasping her arm as she shook violently. But still, despite the obvious pain she was in, Sasuke could see that she was fighting it, and that, slowly, she was overcoming it.

He was so distracted by watching her, that he almost allowed the fox to land a hit on him. But he darted out of the way at the last moment, just as Sakura completed her hand seals and slammed her fist into the ground, forcing large wooden poles to rise and wrap around the beast.

Naruto thrashed against the bindings, letting out a loud roar as Sasuke jumped out of the way, ducking quickly so that one of the unbound tails barely missed him. Sakura was working on a second set of hand seals now, throwing her fingers together in patterns she'd learned from the First Hokage's records.

A soft, green light emitted from her palms for a brief second, then disappeared. She started running, then leaped up, reaching her arm out so that when she closed in on the thrashing fox, her palm sank into his stomach and he let out an even louder roar, if that were possible.

The contact with the fox had intensified Sakura's pain, as her body began violently rejecting the foreign cells. But, she had succeeded. The crystal that hung from Naruto's neck lit up, casting a glow that illuminated the darkening skies. The roars diminished into growls, then groans, and finally, with one last, defeated moan, the nine-tails chakra disappeared back into its human container. Sakura sank to the floor beside Naruto, clutching herself as if to keep her body from falling apart.

She'd never actually done any tests that involved _using_ jutsus of the First Hokage and thus, she was in no way prepared for the pain the burned inside her. Her medical mind, still somewhat cool and logical, knew that the cells of the First Hokage were not compatible with her own cells, and that her chakra system and immune system were working together to fight off the foreign cells.

But her human mind, the one that felt fear, pain, and just emotions in general, had started panicking blindly. She was aware of the fact that, for the most part, the danger was over, so she allowed herself to fall to the floor, rolling up into a ball and squeezing her eyes shut. Her breathing was labored and she felt like something was crushing down on her chest. When she cracked her eyes open a bit, she realized that she was holding herself so tightly, she couldn't breathe.

By now, Sasuke had managed to make his way over, limping slightly because of his own injuries. He had endured everything during the fight, moving at top speed and ignoring his wounds, but now that Naruto was lying in an unconscious heap on the floor, beside Sakura, Sasuke decided it was safe to stop ignoring the pain.

He stopped beside Naruto and dropped to his knees, partly because it hurt less, and partly because he was shocked to see the familiar face after so many years. The blond still resembled himself from years ago. He had the same, spiky hair, thick blond eyebrows, thin whiskers across his cheeks, and a very similar jumpsuit that was orange, of course.

Sasuke momentarily looked away from Naruto, deciding that he would have plenty of time to stare later. For now, he had to figure out what was wrong with Sakura. Since she was the only healer here, she had to be taken care of first. He tentatively reached out and placed a hand on her, then quickly drew away when he felt her shudder. Her body was freezing cold and he could occasionally hear something that was a mix of a sob and a gasp.

Trying not to think about the large gash on his arm, Sasuke reached out again and drew the girl into his arms, gritting his teeth as he came in contact with her cold body.

"Tell me what's wrong", he urged, "tell me so I can heal you".

"It hurts", she barely managed to mumble.

"I know, but what exactly is wrong with you?" he was trying to be patient.

"The cells… they don't…you have to kill the cells!" Sakura whispered.

"What?" Sasuke was dumbfounded. Cells? How the hell was he supposed to kill cells in her body… without killing _her_? He couldn't even figure out how she'd managed to get them _in_. From what he knew, cells made up the body. They weren't just floating around inside you, waiting to be mixed with someone else's cells.

"Kill the cells!" Sakura moaned.

"What are you talking about?!" Sasuke hated the feeling of incompetence that he had right now. His teammate was in pain, unable to help herself, or help him or Naruto, and there was nothing he could do.

"The other needle", Sakura added.

"Other…" Sasuke growled in frustration. Stupid, stupid. She should have just told him that! That was something he could understand, not some crap about cells. He reached into the pack that was strapped to her and dug around, then pulled out a needle.

"Here", Sakura managed to lift an arm and Sasuke grasped it, then almost dropped it. Her skin was alarmingly cold. He grabbed her arm again and stuck then needle in, pressing the fluids into her. Nothing happened.

Her skin was still cold, her body still seemed weak, and Sasuke feared that he'd done something wrong. Were there more needles?

"No, stop", Sakura murmured when she felt him reach into her pack again, "it just takes a while".

He sighed, then dropped her arm, slowly backing away. His own pain was coming back to him now, and he paused to survey the damage to his body. There was a gash across one forearm, several cuts along his legs, and one of his shoulders had been grazed by something sharp. They hurt, but it was nothing compared to the state of the other two shinobi who were with him.

There was nothing he could do except wait for Sakura to heal. He hated the idea of it, but he had to admit they were useless without her. As if she'd read his mind, Sakura began ascending to a sitting position and Sasuke reached out instinctively to test the temperature of her skin. It was normal.

"What are you doing?" Sakura looked at Sasuke strangely, then glanced down at his hand, which was placed awkwardly on her shoulder.

"You felt frozen a moment ago" he said simply.

"Oh". She didn't question him further and they both turned their attention to Naruto, who was still lying unconsciously on the floor. His skin was a dark red color, and Sasuke couldn't really tell if it was blood, or something else that he was covered in.

He watched as Sakura, now looking refreshed, knelt beside Naruto and placed her hands over him, sending waves of her chakra into his body. She seemed to be concentrating very hard, her eyebrows knit together into a frown as she strained to force what chakra she had in her into Naruto's body.

It felt like an eternity to Sasuke, as he sat and waited, watching Sakura work. She seemed more relaxed, almost sinking into a peaceful state as she slowly finished healing Naruto. She seemed to glow with happiness, with relief, and Sasuke found that he really missed seeing her like that. The joy that radiated from her was something he hadn't come across in so long, he had almost forgotten it existed.

Then Naruto opened his eyes, saw Sasuke, and chaos erupted. Even as the young adults they were, there were just parts of their personality that never seemed to fade away. Naruto was unaware of his injuries, unaware of anything that had happened, and really, if he _had_ been aware, he probably wouldn't have cared, because the only thing he saw, the only thing that mattered, was Sasuke.

"YOU!" he leaped up, pointing a finger at Sasuke, who was staring at him with disgust. Sakura backed away and watched, unable to suppress a feeling of nostalgia as she remembered the old days, when Naruto constantly pointed his finger at Sasuke and blamed him for everything.

"Me", Sasuke repeated dully. His cool had obviously returned. Sakura watched in amazement as Naruto shouted incoherent phrases at Sasuke. He seemed angry for one moment, the relieved the next, then confused, then… well, just a whole bunch of emotions that only Naruto could pull off all at once.

While they listen to Naruto babble, Sakura knelt beside Sasuke and gently placed her palms on his arm, healing the major cuts he had. His shirt was blood-stained in a few places, his face slightly scratched up, and his hair ridiculously messy, but he looked better.

Sakura turned to her two teammates, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes, and both Sasuke and Naruto tensed.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto began slowly. Sakura flinched upon hearing her name. She hadn't seen Naruto since their village was destroyed and he'd run off. And he hadn't used the affectionate "-chan" ending long before then.

"There's so much to say", Sakura whispered, "but the injuries you guys have sustained are taking a toll on your bodies. They're not all visible, so you may not be aware of some of them, but trust me, we all need rest".

"Rest", Naruto echoed quietly.

"We'll sleep for now and figure everything out tomorrow", Sakura decided, "and can I trust both of you not to turn your backs on anyone?"

"Just for tonight", Naruto agreed, giving Sasuke a meaningful glare.

"Yeah", Sasuke returned the look, his dark eyes boring into Naruto's, "just for tonight". _And just for your sake_, he added silently, glancing at Sakura.

She seemed satisfied and retreated to an area where two trees had fallen and crossed each other, creating a cozy corner that she curled up into. With half-lidded eyes, Sakura watched as Sasuke and Naruto took opposite sides of the clearing and each settled against a tree trunk. It didn't look too comfortable, but Sakura could not remember a time when she was more at peace, more happy, than she was now.

She looked at her two teammates one last time, then, with a faint smile lingering on her lips, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

What would my readers like to see happen between these three characters? Let me know and I may consider it. And review please! 


	4. Chapter 4

YAY!!! I've become a BETAreader!! Please feel free to send me stuff to beta, because I'd really like to do some beta-ing. XD

* * *

Chapter 4

Sakura woke first, with a sore neck and a sore… well, everything else. She was hurting all over, partly because her back had been pressed against a stub that stuck out of the tree trunk while she slept, and partly because her body was still recovering from the episode that had occurred the day before. She coughed as she sat up and immediately recognized the symptoms of a weakened immune system.

Sasuke and Naruto were still asleep, Sasuke leaning heavily against a tree he'd claimed last night, and Naruto sprawled out across the grass on the opposite end of the clearing. He may have gotten older, but some things never changed. Sakura sighed and covered a hand over her mouth, fighting down another cough. She didn't want to wake either of them up because they really looked like they could use a lot more rest.

Her gaze traveled to Sasuke and she allowed her eyes to linger on his sleeping form, taking in all of his features. She felt embarrassed and guilty for staring, for allowing herself to act so immature, but she couldn't help it. Beside, it wasn't like anyone was there to catch her.

She'd forgotten how beautiful he looked, how stunning his dark hair was, how gorgeous his perfect features were. She stared and stared, memorizing his strong jaw line, his long lashes, the way his face was so perfectly structured. She was acting like a little girl again, the way she used to be when they were in the academy. She felt like she was just another fangirl, one of the dozens who fawned over the genius rookie and screamed "Sasuke-kun!" whenever he passed by.

Sakura shuddered and quickly looked away, mentally scolding herself for acting so childish. How could things revert to the way they were after all these years? It was ridiculous for her to be even thinking of such a thing. She had to act professionally and there was no time to be stuck on such trivial things. Sakura forced her eyes to remain glued to the ground, unwilling to give herself any more satisfaction from staring at Sasuke.

A wave of fatigue washed over her and she decided that since neither of her two companions had awoken it, it wouldn't hurt to go back to sleep. Just for a little bit. She was a light sleeper anyways, so it would be ok. Yes, just a light doze… her eyes closed as her head fell softly against the tree trunk.

* * *

Sasuke stirred slightly when he felt a breeze ruffle his hair, then slowly cracked open his eyes. The first thing he saw was a bird, resting not too far from where he sat, slumped against the tree-trunk. It flew away immediately when he tried to shift himself so that he felt more comfortable. His eyes, with nothing to focus on anymore, began wandering the clearing, eventually settling on the sleeping form of Sakura. 

Well, he couldn't really see all of her, or even most of her, just her face and an arm, slung over the side of a fallen tree. Her hair had fallen across her face, a few wisps blowing in the same breeze that had woken him. She looked so peaceful, completely unlike the serious Sakura that he'd seen previously.

Sasuke stared at her for a moment longer, then allowed his gaze to travel to Naruto, who was occupying half the clearing with his lanky body, spread out awkwardly as he slept. Occasionally, a snore escaped from the ninja, but other than that, he was sound asleep.

Sasuke stared blankly at the space in front of him, not really seeing anything. His mind was playing over and over the image of Naruto he'd seen earlier. He just couldn't get rid of it, any of it. The furious eyes, the swirl of chakra, the claws… everything. And just how much stronger had his old teammate gotten? If Sakura had not been there, if this hadn't been a mission, who would have given up first? Who would have… _died_ first? Yeah, died. He knew that a fight like that would have been to the death.

The thought didn't really frighten him, but it did disgust him a little. He didn't want to see himself as a _killer_. That would lower him to Itachi's level, and he didn't want to sink that low. He closed his eyes, immersing himself deep in thought. Little did he know that doing so would easily cause him to fall asleep once more.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he sat up, head aching, arms and legs throbbing. He looked around him and saw an angel. Well, ok, it wasn't really an angel, but it sure was close. He was staring at Sakura, admiring everything there was to admire about her. To him, she had always been _the_ one. She was strong, both physical and mentally, she was pretty, and, when she wasn't pissed off, she was actually really nice. 

He grinned to himself, but the grin was wiped off his face when the events of the previous day suddenly struck him. He saw Sasuke, asleep, on the other side of the clearing, and he immediately tensed. But Sasuke really _was_ asleep, his breathing was even, his body relaxed. _What is he doing here?_ Naruto wondered, a frown gathering on his face as he studied Sasuke with some anger.

_That bastard ran off, then suddenly shows up… with Sakura? _Naruto didn't get it. What had caused this unexpected reunion? And what happened to the forest? He looked around him, studying the area more carefully this time, and noticed that a trail of destruction had been carved in the woods, eventually leading up to the clearing they were now in. Had Sasuke caused it?

Naruto stood up shakily and began walking towards Sakura. He decided he would wake her first, quietly, and they could decide together what to do with Sasuke. As much as he wanted their teammate back, he still saw Sasuke as an enemy. Naruto approached the two tree trunks between which Sakura lied, breathing gently as she slept.

He was about to reach out to wake her, when he tripped on something- he wasn't sure what it was- and landed just an arm's length from her, creating an eruption of noise. It woke everyone.

Sakura jumped to her feet, already in defense position, looking around wildly. "Naruto!" she yelled in disbelief, when she saw that it was only him.

"Heh", Naruto grinned sheepishly, then pushed himself off the ground.

"Oh, you're awake too, Sasuke", Sakura looked over Naruto's head, giving the figure at the far end of the clearing a slight nod.

"What happened?" Naruto's voice had suddenly turned serious, and Sakura found that all three of them became tense, looking untrustingly at one another.

"Let's talk about it after we return to the village", Sakura sighed, "we're in no condition to stay out here any longer".

"No!" Both Sasuke and Naruto objected firmly, causing Sakura to look at them suspiciously.

"But you're hurt", she protested.

"No" Sasuke said firmly.

"What, is that the only word you know? Why can't you guys see that you need medical attention?" Sakura demanded.

"No one can interfere while we're out here", Sasuke replied smoothly.

"That's right", Naruto agreed, sitting firmly on the ground. He looked like he wasn't going anywhere soon.

"No one will interfere _there_,either! I'll make sure we have privacy. Just, please, you guys need to be healed", Sakura pleaded.

"You just don't want to face all of this yet", Sasuke accused. His tone was low, menacing, sending chills up Sakura's spine.

"And _you_ can heal us _here_", Naruto added.

Sakura groaned in frustration, looking angrily at her two teammates with eyes that held tears, threatening to spill out. But, they'd ganged up on her, and she knew she couldn't take them both at the same time, especially not now.

"Fine", she huffed, looking away bitterly.

"So, what happened?" Naruto asked, motioning to the destroyed forest around them.

"Your kyuubi chakra leaked out five tails", Sasuke's blunt answer earned an appalled gasp from Sakura, who couldn't believe he had the nerve to be so insensitive.

Naruto froze when he heard this, his eyes growing wide.

"Five?" he whispered, his voice suddenly becoming hoarse.

"Naruto, we-"

"_I _did all of this?"

"Naruto, it's not your fault. It's not like-"

"And did I do all of that to you… and you?" he didn't seem to notice Sakura's attempt to comfort him. His mind had finally registered the wounds on Sasuke's body and the general weakened appearance of Sakura. _What had he done?_

"Tell me what happened", he demanded.

"There isn't enough time to explain everything. Let's just get back to-"

"I had to weaken you and lead you to this area, then create an opening so Sakura could use a jutsu on you that sealed the fox's chakra back in", Sasuke cut in. His explanation was short, blunt, easily understood. Once again, Sakura was shocked at how straightforward he could be.

Naruto didn't reply. He'd heard the words, and he was waiting for them to sink in. To really sink in. But for some reason, his mind refused to believe it. He knew about the Kyuubi's chakra, about the seal, about everything, but even so, he had never been able to really comprehend the power that it encompassed. Even after all these years, he was still shocked to see the effects it could have.

"So I was…" he trailed off, unable to speak the words. They were like a taboo, something that just wasn't supposed to be spoken. That _couldn't_ be spoken.

"Naruto, please", Sakura had given up on trying to hold in her tears. She ignored them as they flooded out of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

"No", Naruto backed away, holding up an arm to create a shield between Sakura and himself, "Stay away from me. What if I suddenly sprout a few tails now, and you get hurt?"

"What?" Sakura blinked, "No, no, it doesn't happen like that. Something has to trigger the chakra's release. It doesn't just leak out".

"You don't know that".

Neither Sakura nor Sasuke had ever heard Naruto use such a serious and grave tone and they exchanged nervous glances at each other. Yes, even Sasuke, who seemed to be so cool, calm, collected, who didn't seem to care about anything, was allowing his anxiety to show.

He figured there was no need to put up a wall in this place. There was no one here to see him, no one to judge him. Just his two old teammates.

"We should return to the village", he said. Sakura looked appreciatively at him, silently thanking him for finally agreeing with her. Naruto didn't seem to hear him. It was more than obvious that he was lost in his own world, his mind unable to settle, unable to focus on one clear idea.

Everything about the Kyuubi, rumors he'd heard, the damage he'd witness, the images in his head, was swirling around in his mind, clouding his senses and bringing on a pounding headache. He couldn't bear to look at Sakura, to see her in a weakened state because of him. And as much as he held a grudge against Sasuke for leaving them all, he felt that what he'd done was actually worse; All Sasuke had done was leave them, but he had attacked them, had hurt them.

"Naruto?" Sakura said tentatively, reaching out a hand. She seemed unsure about what to do, part of her wanting more than anything to comfort her friend, and part of her fearing what his reaction would be.

"We have to go back", Sasuke stated firmly. Although he had originally been against the idea of going anywhere near that place again, he could tell from the current circumstances that it was probably not the best idea to be out in the middle of the forest, alone with an unstable, kyuubi-containing boy and an upset, strong-as-hell and moody girl.

"Naruto, please", Sakura's voice finally penetrated his thoughts and Naruto looked up. He saw nothing but Sakura's jade green eyes, and the pain, fear, and sadness that were pouring out of them. There was a bit of strength in her eyes, trying to make up for all the weakness and emotion, but right now, it wasn't doing a very good job.

"Let's _go_", Sasuke's tone had become impatient, and Naruto, not wanting further conflict, complied.

The three shinobi trudged through the forest, towards the general area of the Hidden Village of the Sand, each struggling to hold on to themselves and to keep a calm, outer appearance.

Sakura collapsed first, both mentally and physically. The tension in the air between her two teammates, who were on either side of her, had finally pushed her to the breaking point. No matter how much Naruto and Sasuke tried to keep to themselves, for the sake of each other, there was an unmistakable air of bitterness, secrecy, and suspicion surrounding them.

And, she'd crumbled physically as well. Her weakened body consisted of no more than a simple cold, but it was enough to create an obvious effect. That, plus a lack of eating, left her in a heap on the floor.

When she fell, gracelessly onto the floor, her knees hitting the dirt, both Sasuke and Naruto froze. Neither rushed forward to surround her, as was customary of normal people, but both became wary, eyeing her and each other cautiously. Even Naruto, who normally rushed to the side of his beloved "Sakura-chan", was unable to move at first. His eyes looked up to meet Sasuke's, and a silent agreement was formed between them.

Although there was no reason to, Naruto didn't quite trust himself yet with other people. Sakura had assured him that the nine-tails' chakra didn't leak out so easily, but his mind had already settled for constantly fearing that the chakra would burst out at any moment, causing him to fear being anywhere near Sakura.

Sasuke understood what he was thinking, and scooped Sakura into his arms in one swift movement, ignoring his body's protest. She felt ridiculously light in his arms, and for the first time, he became fully aware of the extent of her injuries. There was nothing visible on her, no cuts or bruises, but he could feel the lack of life in her body, the emptiness seeping through her as he shifted her slightly in his arms. Maybe this was why she wanted to return to the village so badly. Well, she could have just said so.

Sakura seemed to be aware that she was no longer on the ground, but her mind didn't register much more than that. Her head, which probably felt like the heaviest part of her body at the moment, drooped onto Sasuke's shoulder and tilted slightly, fitting against the curve where his neck met his shoulders. There was a stifling feeling in her chest, almost like it was hard to breathe, and her eyes were having trouble staying open.

Even after the night of sleep she'd had, which wasn't all that great, to say the least, she was still worn out and unable to function properly. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was disappointed that she wasn't able to hold herself up more properly, but she decided that for now, there was no point in thinking about any of it. The only thing on her mind was to return to the shelter of the village.

That way, they'd all be safe. Her. Sasuke. Naruto.

* * *

A shinobi standing guard just outside of the Hidden Village of the Sand suddenly became aware of two figures approaching from the distance. The sun was almost set at this time, so only the silhouettes of these figures were visible. One was hunched over, had spiky hair, and was walking with an air of tension around him. 

The other figure was rather bulky, with random parts of the silhouette sticking out on the sides. As the approached the guard, he realized that it was actually the silhouette of two people, one carrying the other. Alarmed, he called for more guards as backup, and when five guard shinobi arrived, they quickly ran out to meet the approaching figures.

They saw the spiky haired figure fall to the ground, shoulders hunched, as if he were unable to move. The other figure, the one who seemed to be carrying someone else, managed to make it a couple more steps before he, too, lowered himself to the ground and tried to gently set the person in his arms down, in front of him.

The guards had reached the three figures by then, and they were shocked to see who they were. Immediately, one of the guards sent his messenger hawk towards the Kazekage's tower, informing the Kazekage of the most recent news. Three of the guards each helped one of the figures to their feet, supporting them as they were led into the village.

Rooms were prepared in the hospital, three separate ones, each with a well-stocked staff of medics and nurses. The girl was brought to her room first, then the two boys, who were still conscious and protested the way they were being handled. Doors opened and closed, the medical staff moved in and out of rooms, machines were hooked up, and before long, all three of them were settled into their treatments.

Outside the room of the girl, two voices spoke quietly.

"Kazekage-sama, she's still unconscious, but we've identified her".

"There's no need. I know that it's Sakura. Please, allow me to see her", Gaara spoke politely, trying very hard to keep his temper under control.

"Of course", the nurse opened the door and allowed the Kazekage to walk in, then quietly closed it again.

Gaara approached the bed where Sakura lied, looking emotionlessly at her unconscious form. There was a single machine hooked up to her arm, supplying her body with the needed nutrients while she was unable to eat.

"The village elders will have a fit about this", he murmured to himself, a smile almost crossing his face as he thought about the old men in the room, ranting to him about what to do and what not to do. But he had to be serious about the situation at hand. Sakura seemed to be in a better state than when she first arrived, and he knew that she would heal. What concerned him was what had happened with Sasuke and Naruto in the forest.

Reports had occasionally been sent back, describing the damage to the forest, but none of his men had actually seen any of the three shinobi out there. There were so many details missing- how it happened, when exactly it happened, how quickly it happened… so many questions running through his mind. Of course, he couldn't ask her at the moment, since she was still unresponsive, so he made a mental note to drill her with question after question once she woke.

Gaara looked around the room for one moment, then, deciding that it was pointless for him to stay any longer until Sakura woke up, he left to go see Naruto and Sasuke. This would definitely be something interesting.

* * *

She woke to a dark room and complete silence. The first thing that went through her mind was panic. But, instead of the usual panic that consisted of simple questions such as "when?" and "where?" she panicked because all she could think of was the injection and her experiments. Did it work? Or was she in a dark and silent place because she was dead? 

A sudden noise that seemed to be coming from far away, with a trace of echo following it convinced her that she really_ was_ dead. But the noise grew louder, came closer, until a crack of light entered the room, then something that sounded like a door creaked open.

"Sakura?"

"Ugh", Sakura realized she was in the hospital and tried to speak, but her words came out all garbled up.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Mmhm", she tried to sound positive, tried to brighten the words, or sounds, that were coming out of her mouth.

"That's good". She could now identify the voice as a nurse's, one of the ones she'd worked with a few times.

"I brought you medication. It's supposed to help strengthen your body's natural defenses", the nurse explained.

Sakura sighed. She knew that already, duh. "Thanks", she forced herself to say as the nurse switched on a dim light in the corner and handed her several small pills. The pills burned their way down her throat and she quickly gulped the glass of water in her hand, then dropped everything back onto the tray for the nurse to take care of.

"Anything else I can do for you?" the nurse asked politely. Even in her fatigued state, Inner Sakura, who had not faded over these years, did a little dance. Just the fact that the nurse was polite, and not impatient with her, told Sakura that she had some sort of unspoken authority here. It was nice to have power.

"Could you turn off the lights and let some air in?" Sakura asked.

"Of course".

The curtains were pulled back and the windows opened, allowing the warm, desert air to breeze into the room. As the nurse left, Sakura noted that it was a rather cool night, and the lowered temperature, a stark contrast from the usually hot, sandy climate, was definitely a nice change.

She now had time to think, with no interruptions or distractions. A bit of moonlight filtered into the window and she looked outside, into the distance. While her eyes relaxed and moved lazily among the nighttime scenery that was outside, her mind worked hard, analyzing and sorting out everything that happened. She vaguely remembered collapsing somewhere along the way and she was actually quite surprised that her two old teammates were able to make it back without killing each other.

And speaking of which, where were they anyways? Another rush of panic shot through her when it finally dawned on her that she didn't actually know for sure where Naruto and Sasuke were. They could be in the hospital, safe and resting, the way she was, or they could have destroyed each other out in the forest. Her fists clenched tightly as she tried to convince herself that she had to have more faith in the two guys. They wouldn't start fighting that easily… or would they?

_I have to know what happened to them_, she thought, tossing the covers off of her. She swung a leg over the bed, then shifted her weight slowly, testing her physical abilities. She was able to stand up, although her movements were rather weak and shaky. Pressing a palm against the wall to support herself, Sakura slowly made her way to the door, quietly opening it just a crack so she could see if there were any nurses in the hallway.

Nope, it was clear. She stepped outside, then stopped, remembering that she had no idea where Naruto and Sasuke's rooms were. But, of course, having worked here for a while now, she still had an advantage. She knew this was the 1st floor, because newly admitted patients were always put here. And if those two _were_ in the hospital, they'd be on the same floor as her.

A visual of the floor plan appeared in her mind and she mentally crossed out the first two rooms- those were kept empty for emergencies. She knew the next several rooms had patients, as she'd treated them just recently and it was too soon for them to be released. She thought about the rest of the rooms for a while, finally narrowing it down to three rooms. Well, two out of three was pretty good, wasn't it?

At the pace she moved, it took nearly forever for Sakura to reach the first of the three doors. She paused outside the room, listening quietly to see if she could pick up any clues as to who was inside. It was silent. Tentatively, Sakura placed her hand on the door handle and gently turned it, giving the door a slight push. Still silence.

Either the room was unoccupied or the patient was unconscious or someone was waiting to jump out at her. She really hoped it wasn't the last one.

The room was really, really dark. No lights, no opened curtains or windows… even the opened door didn't seem to help much. Sakura allowed her eyes to adjust before scanning the room. She didn't see much at first, until her gaze reached the bed. A pair of dark eyes stared intently at her, and even against the dark background, those eyes stood out.

"Sasuke?" she said the first name that came to mind, the only name that she ever truly associated with darkness.

He didn't reply, but the eyes visibly softened and she took that as a sign that it was ok for her to be in there. She shut the door behind her, then strode over to the window and pushed back the curtain, opening the windows the way the nurse had opened hers.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked.

"Hn".

"That's good", she replied softly.

"You shouldn't be walking around", he said after a while. She knew that was the closest he'd come to saying he cared about her wellbeing.

"I'm fine", she lied.

"Really?" his voice sounded skeptical. Sakura cringed in the dark. He was the first person who'd called her out on her lies so easily, and so confidently. She was normally quite good at hiding herself, but she'd become transparent around him.

"Yes", she tried again.

"You're voice is weak", he stated, "Don't lie to me".

"Sasuke…" Sakura sighed, not sure of what to say. He waited patiently for her to clear her thoughts. "What… well, what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we're all back. Me, you, Naruto. And now what?"

"Just because we happen to be in the same village doesn't mean we have to do anything together", Sasuke's voice had turned cold, and the icy tone wrapped itself around Sakura, making her shiver uncomfortably.

"I see", she sounded incredibly sad, and for just a moment, Sasuke felt guilt and regret for saying those words. "I guess you're free to go, then. I mean, technically, I guess you didn't do anything wrong".

"Really?" there was surprise in Sasuke's voice.

"I'm sure I can talk to the Kazekage…" Sakura trailed off, rubbing her arm self-consciously. She was glad the room was dark, so he couldn't see her turning red. As subtle as it was, she felt the rejecting hitting her. For some reason, she'd naively thought that with all three members reunited, something nice could have happened. Well, that sure was a retarded thought.

Sasuke had fallen silent during this time. He didn't have anything worth saying, so he didn't waste his energy. He knew that he _should__ have_

have said something, anything, to make the girl sitting at the end of his bed feel better, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. That sort of action had become foreign to him, and he felt awkward even attempting to make someone feel better. It just wasn't his thing.

A single sniffle broke the silence and Sasuke groaned inwardly. _Please, please don't be crying_, he begged in his mind. With a lack of human interaction, he really had no idea how to respond.

"Are you crying?" he said the first thing that came to mind.

"No". Wow, she was suddenly getting to be a really, really bad liar. The tears were obvious in her voice and Sasuke winced. Deciding he wasn't too badly hurt, he moved to the edge of the bed beside Sakura and placed a hand on her shoulder, in what he thought was a comforting gesture. He'd seen it work with other people.

She didn't respond to his touch and he vaguely wondered if he'd done wrong. How did other people deal with this stuff? He wracked his brains and shifted through various images in his memory, eventually settling on one of his parents, in a rare moment when he'd seen them show affection to each other.

Well, it was mostly his mother, who'd been comforting his father about something. He didn't remember what it was, but he remembered the image quite clearly. It'd worked for them, so he figured it was reasonable to try.

Letting out a small sigh, he scooted closer to Sakura until they sat side by side. He raised one arm slowly, then cautiously wrapped it around her shoulder. His other arm curled around the other side of her and he tightened his grip, pressing her against his chest. It hurt slightly to do so, as his wounds were feeling quite tender at the moment, but he ignored the pain.

Her head fell naturally against the crook of his neck and she settled there, unmoving. But Sasuke could tell that along the way, he'd done something right, because although she began to cry more, her hands were clenching his shirt, as if desperately holding on to him.


	5. Chapter 5

Since I originally placed this fanfic under romance and angst, let's end it that way, shall we? This chapter, which will be the last one, will take care of the angst (hopefully). Then I'll put up a short epilogue, which will take care of the romance. Don't worry, it sounds crappy, but it'll be good. Here goes… XD

* * *

Chapter 5

Naruto awoke to darkness, his eyes unable to immediately adjust. He lay, unmoving, for the first few moments, waiting for his headache to slowly fade. There was a slightly nauseous feeling about him and a dull throbbing on his lower back. But other than a few discomforts, he was feeling a lot better than he had in days.

He was well aware of the fact that he was in a hospital- the air reeked of the smell of disinfectants- but other than that, he really had no idea where he was. The last thing he could clearly remember was a fuzzy outline of the Sand Village, then the sandy floor rushing up to meet him as he fell, unconscious. So he must be in the Sand Village, then.

Despite the obviously, for lack of better word, _bad _condition he was in, Naruto couldn't hold back his curiosity. He'd always been like this; he just _had_ to know what was going on. He slipped out of bed with little caution, as was his habit, and stumbled to the door. The fox's chakra had healed him quickly and he was able to keep himself standing upright as he made his way down the empty hallway.

Wasn't this supposed to be a hospital? Where was everyone? He placed a hand against one wall to steady himself. The initial burst of energy he'd had while getting out of that hospital bed had been drained and he could feel the fatigue creeping up on him.

Footsteps around the corner alerted his senses and he quickly looked around, not wanting to get caught. The footsteps grew louder, then two figures turned the corner. A nurse and a medic were conversing in hushed tones, discussing a patient that had been newly admitted to the hospital. They walked down the corridor without hesitation, neither noticing the blond ninja stacked against the ceiling in a poor, comical attempt to conceal himself.

Naruto watched as the two figures walked off, then let out a sigh of relief. He landed skillfully on the floor, a little out of breath, and continued down the hall. He didn't really have a clear idea of where he was going, but he supposed the reasonable thing to do was to find Sakura. Of course, Sakura would know what to do. She _was_ Sakura, after all.

He smiled a little to himself and the childish light returned to his eyes as he thought about the extremely awesome girl he'd know for most of his life. He had to find her; she'd make everything well again.

Naruto walked past a door along the way and paused, slowing thinking to himself. Sakura had been pretty badly hurt, so she was probably in one of these rooms as well. How would he find her? He considered going to the front desk to ask, but realized he would just be sent back to his room.

_Alright, then! I'll just check every room until I find her!_ He thought, pumping a determined fist in the air. He reached for the first door, pushed it open, and saw an empty room. _OK, next room_. The next four or five rooms he checked were occupied by sleeping patients who didn't notice his intrusion. He concluded that it was probably some time in the middle of the night, which would explain why everyone was asleep.

He opened two more doors, one that was empty, and one who had a nurse tending to a patient. The nurse turned to see who had opened the door, but Naruto took off before she could get a clear look at his face. His footsteps quickened after that; he knew there would be hospital staff members looking for him now.

Naruto tore down the hall, throwing doors open and slamming them shut. There was no need to conceal his location anymore because he could hear people running after him, footsteps echoing along the halls.

He quickly turned into a corner, then turned another one, to buy himself more time. He approached a new set of doors and decided that since he'd momentarily lost the people chasing him, it would be a smart idea to check these rooms quietly. After two unsuccessful attempts, he reached the third door and paused to take a breath.

There was sound coming from this room- quiet sniffles, then a sigh. It sounded like there were at least two people in there. Carefully, Naruto peeked through the small window on the door and saw two figures sitting on the hospital bed. It was extremely dark, but he could make out the fuzzy outlines. They looked awfully familiar.

His heartbeat sped up as his eyes strained to see in the dark. It was Sakura and Sasuke; he was sure of that. But what caught his attention was the proximity of the two. She appeared to be buried in his arms, and he, as unexpected as it was for Sasuke, seemed to go along with her actions, even responding to it.

Naruto shook his head to clear his mind. No, this couldn't be the right room. He could understand Sakura's need for comfort, but Sasuke… _Uchiha Sasuke_, showing … _kindness?_ Those words just didn't go in the same sentence.

They'd noticed his presence at this point and Sakura practically leapt off the bed, awkwardly shifting away from a startled Sasuke, who had momentarily let his guard down.

"Naruto!" Sasuke sounded surprised, with a bit of annoyance tinting his voice. It was the same voice he'd used many years ago on a daily basis when looking down on Naruto.

Sakura was in the corner, eyes widened, her mind working furiously to comprehend what was going on. It wasn't really the situation that caught her; she was just a bit thrown off by the fact that the three of them, after all these years, were assembled in the same room.

"Na-Naruto, you feel better, right?" Sakura had found her voice again and began approaching the door, where the light from the hallway slowly light her features. In the dim lighting, Naruto could see a tentative, unsure look in her eyes. He grimaced inwardly. This was _not_ how he wanted her to approach him.

"Sakura-chan", he nodded, glad that she'd acknowledged him.

"Well, I'm glad no one's injured too badly", Sakura tried to smile, hoping that she was lightening the mood.

"Sakura-cha-"

"C'mon, Naruto. I think we should return to our rooms. Everyone needs more rest", Sakura stressed the "return" part and Naruto, catching the hint, stepped dutifully out of the room.

"You should rest too, Sasuke-kun", Sakura said lightly as she slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her. She waited for the 'click' to signal that the door was tightly closed, then turned to Naruto in the hallway.

"Were you guys talking?" he asked in a low voice.

Sakura looked tiredly at him, not sure of how to answer. It sounded like a simple 'yes' or 'no' question, but it wasn't. Yes, they were talking. But, no, it wasn't really "talking". Not in the sense that anything important had been spoken.

"Not really", she finally answered, adding a shrug as she began leading the way down the hall. Naruto trailed after her, continuously firing questions at her. _What_ exactly happened? _How_ badly hurt had she been? And Sasuke? Was he badly hurt too? When did Sasuke come back? What were they going to do with-

"Naruto! I can't answer everything at once!" Sakura sounded exasperated. She sucked in a deep breath, held it, and turned to look at Naruto. Slowly, as if forcing all of the anger and frustration out of her, Sakura let the breath out.

"This is so complicated", she murmured, closing her eyes. Naruto's senses alerted almost immediately. Sakura wobbled, unsteady on her feet. Her eyes didn't open again as she fell. Naruto barely caught her before they both tumbled to the ground.

* * *

Sasuke stared numbly at the ceiling. _Sasuke-kun_, she had called him. Reverting back to the childhood days, huh?

Her voice played over and over in his head and he couldn't get rid of it. Didn't want to get rid of it. Already, his arms missed the feeling of her warmth, his chest missed the pressure of her body against his. He realized that no matter how much he believed he was better off alone, he really appreciated the human contact he'd been missing out on for so many years.

Now, left alone in the darkness, Sasuke had plenty of time to think about everything; plenty of time to sort things out. His mind was focused on Sakura- she was his only possible ally at the moment, but more so, she was his only companion. And even with her, he couldn't be sure where her loyalties lied.

She'd changed so much, grown so much, yet part of him felt that underneath her tough exterior, she was exactly the same. The same girl who lived on the tremendous support of people around her, who desired to be important to people, who just wanted, no, needed, to be accepted by him. Or maybe that was all wishful thinking? Maybe he was no longer of any importance to her.

Was there a way he could figure it all out? He tried to recall the way she'd acted before, hoping that he could catch a glimpse of her thought patterns, of her old habits. He searched for anything that could help him understand what she thought. But there was nothing.

Too much time had passed for him to predict any of her thoughts anymore. He had to reluctantly admit that, although she would have done anything for him when they were younger, she was now a different person. She was now her own person.

_So, does that mean I'm too late?_ Sasuke sighed and rubbed his head. This wasn't going anywhere. He hated the feeling of insecurity and he hated the inability to do anything about it.

"Things have changed quite a bit", he muttered dryly.

A rush of footsteps outside his room had Sasuke suddenly up in his bed. He strained to listen to the frantic voices and was able to catch enough words amongst the incoherent voices to understand that Sakura had somehow fainted out in the hallways.

Where did that put him? Was he supposed to sit and wait, and let the nurses take care of it? That was obviously the reasonable thing to do, but as we all know, people aren't always reasonable. Sasuke jumped out of his bed, forgetting about his injuries. As his foot came in contact with the floor, he remembered that he wasn't exactly in tip-top shape and his body immediately hunched over. Using the wall to support himself, Sasuke made his way to the door.

The hallways were already empty by the time he was out of the room. However, there was a distinct group of voices coming from one of the rooms and he followed it eagerly. The garbled words became clearer and Sasuke listened, eyes narrowing as the words of the people inside the room reached him.

"She's worked herself- and worried herself, to the point of exhaustion", one of the medics spoke up. His voice was sympathetic.

"What was she doing out in the hallway?" another voice asked.

"What _was_ she doing?" the first medic repeated the question.

Sasuke waited, wondering why the medic said the same thing.

"She was talking to… to me".

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he heard Naruto's voice answer. It was obviously a lie.

"Talking to you?" the medic sounded skeptical. "And what were _you_ doing out there?"

"Talking to her?" Naruto answered hopefully,

The medic sighed loudly and Sasuke had to fight back a slight smile. Even in the most serious of times, Naruto found a way to annoy people and provide a bit of entertainment. It must have been a gift.

"She just needs rest", the first medic spoke again, "and possibly an IV drip. The glucose level in her blood is extremely low and her chakra flow is weak".

"But, she'll be ok, right?" Naruto's voice was obnoxiously louder than the medic's. Sasuke cringed.

"Yes. And what about you? You weren't given permission to leave _your _room, were you?" the medic's voice had become stern.

"But I'm fine!" Naruto protested.

"Tsh, fine? We have to do an examination. Come".

The door opened and Sasuke quickly stepped back just in time to miss being hit by Naruto's swinging arm.

"Oi, what are you doing out here?"

Sasuke ignored the question, earning a frustrated growl from his blond teammate.

"I asked you a question!" Naruto spoke louder.

"C'mon, we don't have time for this", the medic had stepped out behind Naruto and was ushering him along. "But, he has a point. What are you doing out here? _Why _can't you guys just follow rules? Everyone's out of there beds before they're supposed to be- no one's going to recover like this!"

The medic's voice echoed down the hall and Sasuke rolled his eyes. He trudged back to his room as ordered, acting reluctant all the way. But, really, he was satisfied. There was a sense of security now. He knew Sakura would recover, Naruto was almost fully healed, and he would be fine as well. In a way, things were getting better.

* * *

Gaara folded his hands on the table and looked at the three shinobi in front of them. Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, standing in that order. His first words were directed at the medic in the middle, because, really, she was the only person he was willing to trust at this time.

"And that's it?" he repeated the question he'd just asked.

"Yes, kazekage-sama".

Gaara sighed. He was roughly the same age as these shinobi and probably had the same amount of life experience, so technically, he wasn't super wise or anything, but he certainly wasn't stupid. Their story, well, it was mostly Sakura's story, had holes. He knew Sakura wouldn't lie to him, but that didn't mean she would tell him everything either. He supposed that even after all the time she'd spent living in the Sand, the girl was still loyal to fellow Leaf shinobi.

"Well, I guess that means you guys are free to go for now. Return at sundown and we'll discuss our final decisions", Gaara said finally.

"Thank you", Sakura was the first to leave the room, her two teammates closely behind her. They were silent as they walked down the long, winding corridor and no one even thought of speaking until they were a good distance away from the kazekage's tower.

"Why didn't you tell him everything?" Naruto demanded, looking angrily back and forth from Sakura to Sasuke, "and why didn't you let me speak?"

Sakura shifted her eyes to the floor. "There was no need for - "

"You were protecting _him_", Naruto thrust an arm towards Sasuke.

"Naruto! You have to understan- " Sakura was pleading, but Naruto ignored her and turned to the dark-haired shinobi.

"We don't even know if we can trust you. After the way you left. Even after Konoha fell, I'm sure you've heard, and you still - "

"You don't know anything about me!" Sasuke snapped, taking a step forward.

"That's why we can't trust you!" Naruto countered.

Sakura stepped instinctively between the two, but Sasuke dragged her aside, shoving her almost harshly out of the way as he took another step towards Naruto.

"Hey! You can't do that to her!" Naruto growled.

"You just accused her of protecting me, you hypocrite", Sasuke shot back.

Sakura looked on helplessly as they argued, an unsettling sense of déjà vu flooding her as she listened. This was just like before; every time the two of them got into a fight, whether it was with harsh words or weapons, she hadn't been able to do anything.

"I think Gaara has a right to know what- "

"To know what happened exactly with the chakra tails?" Sasuke interrupted, shooting a glare at Naruto. That shut him up.

"Stop it!" Sakura's arms shot out, each hand grasping the arm of one of her teammates. They paused to look at her, slightly taken back by her interference. "There's no point in arguing. No one is anyone's enemy here. We just- we just have to figure everything out".

"Figure everything out?" Naruto echoed, "What does that mean?"

"It means you guys have to know what you're going to do after this", Sakura sighed.

"I'm leaving", Sasuke replied simply. He looked like he was ready to just walk out of the village any minute.

"What?!" Sakura and Naruto had the same reaction: disbelief.

"There's nothing for me here", Sasuke looked at them and Sakura detected a hint of sadness in his eyes. She could understand what was going through his mind. He was right; there really was nothing here for him. This wasn't his home. He wasn't exactly welcome here. And there wasn't much he could do to contribute to the village.

"Where will you go?" she asked softly.

"You're letting him go?!" Naruto's voice grew louder.

Sakura didn't reply and Sasuke ignored the protest.

"I've been traveling before all this happened. It wouldn't be any more or less different", he stated.

"Well, I'm leaving too, then", Naruto hmphed. Sasuke nodded nonchalantly and Sakura gave him a sad smile.

"So, is this it, then?" She asked, "Even though Gaara-sama says he will speak to the council about our future, he ultimately has the power to make the choice. And I know he'll let us decide on our own. So, is this really it?"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan", Naruto murmured. He looked longingly at the distance. Since the destruction of Konoha, he'd been a wanderer as well. Although, his journeys were considerably more difficult than those of Sasuke, since the kyuubi would constantly be a burden for him. But when it came down to it, he didn't know any other lifestyle anymore. Anything he'd learned from Konoha- loyalty to the Hokage, teamwork, completing missions- had faded away during his travels. He was different now.

"Then, let's make this last moment enjoyable, ok?" Sakura tried her hardest to smile, "Before we have to go see Gaara-sama again, let's spend time together as Team 7".

"Ok!" Naruto grinned. He was up for this, of course.

Sasuke studied the hidden, pained expression on Sakura's face, then agreed as well. He would comply with this, just for her. They strolled down the streets of the Sand Village with Sakura leading the way. She was the only one in the group who knew her way around. The first few places they came upon were all restaurants. They were hungry, but the food just wasn't tempting enough.

Until… Naruto saw a ramen stand.

"RAMEN!!" all the genuine, childlike joy suddenly radiated from him and he galloped forward, leaving a startled Sakura and amused Sasuke behind. They caught up in time and each took a seat beside Naruto, who'd already gotten halfway through his bowl.

"Aren't you eating a bit fast?" Sakura scrunched up her eyebrows as she picked at her noodles.

Naruto's reply came in the form of garbled words, which no one could comprehend.

"Uh… ok", Sakura said sheepishly.

The reply was more garbled words, which sent Sakura into a fit of laughter and even managed to crack a smile on Sasuke's usually emotionless features.

Even after the empty ramen bowls had stacked up, the three shinobi remained seated. They'd lost themselves to a world of memories, bringing up every mission they'd completed together, all the times Kakashi-sensei had been late, and all the inside jokes they'd managed to compile over the years.

It wasn't until the store owner "politely" reminded them (for the 3rd time) that they were closing soon, that the three decided they finally had to leave. They ambled along the main roads of the village, heading in the general direction that led them towards the kazekage's office. They walked slowly, so slowly, that by the time they finally reached the office, it was time to go in.

* * *

Gaara was looking at the same three people he'd seen earlier that day. And they were standing in the exact same places.

"You said I could leave your surveillance if the mission was a success. Does that also include leaving the village completely?" Sasuke asked.

"And where would you go?"

"Anywhere. I've been doing this before you guys captured me. I can continue to do the same". The confidence in Sasuke's voice worked like magic. Gaara nodded almost without hesitation and Sakura smiled a smile that was mixed with both happiness and sadness. She was happy for Sasuke, happy that he could do what he wanted. But at the same time, she was incredibly sad. Despite all the conflict, the past few days had been the most interesting in a long time. She realized how much she missed having her teammates around, especially Sasuke.

"And you, Naruto?" Gaara turned his head.

"I'll…" Naruto looked at the wall for a moment, as if thinking hard, then snapped his head back towards the kazekage, "I'm leaving too".

"If that's your choice. We have no control over your decisions", Gaara stated.

* * *

It was the last night they would be in the same village. Both Sasuke and Naruto were set to leave early the next morning. Sakura was heartbroken.

That night, she tossed and turned in her bed, unable to rest or even lay still. Her heart was pounding and she had no idea why. Well, she supposed it was because her fleeting moments with her two teammates would end in a few hours, but it had to be more than that. She was happy with her life, wasn't she? Before all of this, she'd lived every day comfortably. Sure, she often thought of the two, and she missed them a lot, but she'd never felt anything like this.

Why did both Sasuke _and_ Naruto have to leave her? Why couldn't they just all live happily together?

_You're making this into a fairytale_, a voice in her mind scolded her. She knew happy endings weren't possible. Not in real life, anyways. She knew both Sasuke and Naruto well enough to know that there really wasn't anything she could do or say to make them stay.

"Just for a little longer", she squeezed her eyes shut as a tear slid down her cheek.

Her fists clenched the bed sheets, wringing the material tightly. It felt like her heart was being wrung. "Can't they stay just a little longer?" she repeated, half whispering, half sobbing.

Her mind was shifting through all the good memories she'd managed to hold on to, playing through each one until she abruptly stopped at that one night. The night Sasuke first left Konoha.

Her heart felt like it was squeezed painfully and she choked back a sob. She could still see it all clearly. It was a memory that wouldn't ever fade. The twelve-year-old Sakura, the twelve-year-old Sasuke, standing a good distance apart on the road that led out of the village.

She'd pleaded him with everything she had that night. _Everything._ She'd cried all her tears, said everything she had on her mind, done everything she could. And he'd still left. Then what hope was there for her to convince him this time? He was stronger now, more resolute. Surely, he wouldn't even pay attention to her pleads.

"He's leaving tomorrow", Sakura whispered aloud, looking at the ceiling. Her eyes flashed open and she blinked rapidly until the tears left her eyes. "Sasuke… don't leave".

She heard a thump, followed by the door of her room creaking open. Immediately, Sakura sat up, completely alert. She momentarily turned off her emotions slipped her hand under her pillow, grabbing the kunai she kept there.

"Sakura?" the voice was soothing. Sakura relaxed her grip on the weapon and turned her head towards the door.

"Wha -"

"Were you talking in your sleep?" the voice was slightly teasing. Sakura felt a chill come over her.

"I was awake", she replied softly, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. Had he heard what she'd said?

"You don't want me to leave, huh?" his voice grew nearer as he approached her bed.

"No", she admitted. So he _had_ heard her.

"You know I won't listen to you that easily", he was right next to her bed now.

"I know. What are you doing here?" her voice only grew quieter as he seated himself on the bed.

"I came to talk to you", he stated.

"Oh".

"I'm leaving tomorrow".

"I know".

"Come with me".

"What?" Sakura turned. She could see his face, with peaceful, serene features that were lit partially by the moonlight. There was a certain intensity in his eyes, but everything else looked calm.

"Come with me", he repeated.

"Me?"

"No, the freaking bed", he rolled his eyes, a smirk playing on his lips. Sakura watched him, her heart thundering in her chest.

"I -"

"Sakura. If you come with me, we could do anything. Any kind of life... _any_ opportunity would be open. A skilled shinobi and a talented medic? We could really do _anything_".

"So I'm just useful then, is that it, Sasuke? Is that why you want me to come with you?" Even as Sakura spoke these defying words, she felt herself give away. 

"Yes. But, there are a lot of medics out there. I'm asking you because I want _you_ to go with me", Sasuke spoke as if he were stating the obvious. There was no embarrassment, no bashfulness in his voice. He had no reason to hide the truth.

"I can't just leave here", Sakura protested. But even as she said these words, she knew she wanted to go with him. She had to admit this was possibly _the _most tempting opportunity she'd been opened up to. Traveling with Sasuke, the one person she'd admired and idolized as a girl. She was more mature now, of course, but she still had the same fascination with him. The way he thought, the way he acted, the way he held himself in any situation.

She sighed.

"What about Naruto?"

"What about him?"

"I mean", Sakura sighed again, "where's he going to go?"

"He can do whatever he wants", Sasuke replied. "I've said before, we're no longer a team. There's no more Konoha, no more anything. If you come with me, we make a new team. There is no more Team 7".

"There's no… oh", Sakura's voice broke. _No Team 7, huh?_

"The decision is yours. I leave tomorrow no matter what". Sasuke slipped off the bed and turned to leave. He was halfway out the room when he paused, thought for a moment, then turned back around.

Before Sakura's mind could register it, she found herself swept up, roughly kissed, then unceremoniously dumped back onto the bed.

"Sasu-"

The door was closed. He was gone. Sakura sunk back under the covers and buried her head in the pillow. Her lips tingled and her heartbeat sped up, if that was even possible. She remained awake for the rest of the night, thinking long and hard about the possible future ahead of her.

Before the sun brightened her room, she'd made her decision.

* * *

WOWOWOWOW… what's her decision?! Technically, the story ends here and the ending is supposed to be like, self-explanatory. You know, the reader chooses whatever ending they like. But just for the hell of it, I'm putting up an epilogue. So don't go anywhere yet! XD


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue is up. This is the end of this fanfic and I must say I'm actaully quite proud of this one. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. And review please. I know it's the last chapter, but it's not too late to write something nice XD

Epilogue

Two years had passed and Sakura's only regret was that they'd left Naruto behind. Her feelings for Sasuke developed slowly and steadily overtime and she never loved anyone the way she loved him, but a great part of her missed the loud-mouthed, hyperactive shinobi that both she and Sasuke referred to as a best friend. In fact, Sasuke had admitted at times that there was just one more thing they needed to brighten their relatively peaceful life. Naruto.

Neither Sakura nor Sasuke were aware of their old teammate's whereabouts, although they had tried numerous times to track him down. His trail ended at the Hidden Village of the Sand and from there, no one really knew where he went off to. The only information the Kazekage could provide was that Naruto had stayed in the village for two weeks after Sasuke and Sakura left, then took off without a word. He left in the dead of night; one day he was there, the next day it was as if he never existed at all.

This left Sakura angry at herself, of course, and sent her into a state of self-blame that resulted in repeated arguments between her and Sasuke. The only solution was obvious- find Naruto. But it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Naruto may have been rather clumsy and impulsive, and he often acted without thinking things through, but when he didn't want anyone to find him, he was surprisingly good at hiding himself.

Although they repeatedly made attempts to find their old teammate, both Sasuke and Sakura knew that life had to go on. They normally moved from village to village, never staying for more than a few months at the most, in fear that Sasuke's past eventually caught up with him. They took these opportunities, while meeting new people, to ask about their teammate's location. But, like always, there were no results.

Thus, it came as an extremely pleasant surprise when, while on the way to meet Sasuke at a restaurant one day, Sakura saw Naruto rounding a corner several meters ahead of her. She immediately broke into a run, with inner Sakura cheering her on. But by the time she reached the same corner, it was too late and she was forced to reluctantly go back on her way.

"I saw Naruto today", Sakura announced as they entered the restaurant.

"You-table for two, please- you saw who?" Sasuke waved a hand nonchalantly at the waitress standing by the door.

"Naruto", Sakura repeated, "but he disappeared before I could catch up to him". They were led to a table by a second waitress who bounced merrily ahead of them. Sakura waited for her to set two menus down, then bounce away again.

Sasuke pulled out the chair closest to him, then walked to the other side of the table, giving Sakura a look he'd normally give a child. "You were probably just imaging it. I know we both want to -"

"I know what I saw!" Sakura argued back, sitting angrily in the chair.

Sasuke sat down across from her and folded his hands together, placing them under his chin, the way he often did when thinking.

"You're sure?" he asked after a while.

"_Yes_", Sakura stressed.

"Hn", he fell silent again, eyes narrowing slightly.

"What?"

"Nothing. You're _sure_?"

"Are you doubting my abilities?" Sakura challenged.

Sasuke gave her a long, hard look, then shook his head. He knew Sakura had a tendency to wish for the best of everything, but he knew she wasn't stupid. If she said she saw Naruto, then he believed her.

"So how would you suggest we go about finding him?" he asked, picking up a menu.

"The same way we track anyone down, I guess", Sakura replied, taking the other menu. She vaguely scanned the items, then set the menu down. "You order. I hate ordering food".

"I know."

Sakura smiled sheepishly.

"If you've seen him, then I'm sure the locals have seen him too. If we give a description, it shouldn't be too hard", Sasuke continued.

"Yeah, how many guys with blond hair wearing an orange jumpsuit do you see around here?" Sakura said lightly.

"Still?" Sasuke peeked up from behind his menu, one eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Yep, still orange", Sakura nodded, "that's why I knew it was him".

"Hn".

"Are you ready to order?" the bouncy waitress returned to their table, eyeing Sasuke hopefully while trying her best to ignore a glaring Sakura.

Sasuke ordered without looking up once, leading inner Sakura to celebrate wildly while Sakura bit back a smug grin. _My Sasuke, _she thought, not caring that she was acting just the teeniest bit immature.

"After dinner, then", Sasuke announced after the waitress had left.

"Huh?"

"We'll go ask around after dinner", he explained.

"You really believe me, then", Sakura smiled.

"I thought we already established that", Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I-"

"Shut up and eat". The bouncy waitress had returned again with the appetizers and frowned slightly as she stepped into the middle of their conversation. The sympathetic look she gave Sakura made the latter want to laugh.

"She heard you, you know", Sakura grinned as the waitress walked away, no longer bouncing.

"What?"

"All she heard you say was 'shut up and eat', so now she thinks you're some demanding, overbearing-"

"What's your point?" Sasuke asked as he dropped some food into his plate.

"Well", Sakura began slowly, her grin growing wider, "she took quite a bit of interest in you earlier. But not anymore. You know, you push people away when you have an attitude like that".

"Would you rather she still take interest in me?" Sasuke replied.

"I-argh", Sakura shook her head, then stabbed her fork into the food in front of her. She glared at her plate, then slowly looked up at Sasuke, who was trying hard not to let a smirk grace his features. "I don't know why I put up with you", she stuffed the food in her mouth.

"You know perfectly well why you do. It was your choice".

Sakura stared at the person in front of her in disbelief. "What?!"

"And it's still your choice", Sasuke continued to eat, as if nothing in the world could bother him.

Sakura lowered her head and didn't reply. Yeah, she had a choice. She'd always had a choice to leave or stay with Sasuke. Obviously, she'd chosen to stay with him for the past two years, and she wasn't going to change her mind now.

They finished dinner and left the restaurant, leaving the waitress a generous tip in hopes that good karma would reward them and allow them to find their old teammate. The couple ambled down the street that led away from the restaurant, heading for the lively market square a few blocks away. The sky was dark, but with the festive lanterns and lights lining the shops, it was easy to see a good distance ahead.

"Excuse me", Sakura approached the first stand in the market square, "have you seen a young man with blond hair wearing orange pass by here?"

"Sorry, dear, no oranges today", the old lady shook her head, then offered to sell them some vegetables.

"Where'd you see him?" Sasuke asked as they left the stand.

"Oh, uh, by the dock", Sakura led him in a new direction, "and now that I think about it, he was walking that way…he- oh! Sasuke! He must have just arrived. He was coming from the dock. I bet he checked into one of the hotels around here!"

"You can't jump to conclusions like that", Sasuke shook his head, but allowed Sakura to eagerly tug him away from the market square and towards a cluster of small inns lined up on one side of the street.

"C'mon, c'mon, we'll split up so it's faster", Sakura had, for some unknown reason, reverted to a childlike state, her eyes shining with enthusiasm and excitement as she left Sasuke in front of one of the inns while she darted into the lobby of the one beside it. He shook his head as he watched her race off, letting out a sigh of defeat.

"Excuse me, but has anyone new checked in today?" Sasuke asked the man behind the counter.

"No new arrivals, sir, but we've got a few free rooms. You meeting someone here?"

"No, thanks". Sasuke walked out of the inn just as Sakura burst out from another one, skipped right past him, and into a larger hotel farther down.

"Wait!" he managed to catch her as she ran back out of the larger hotel and struggled for a moment when she wiggled in his grasp. "You forget we're skilled shinobi", he hissed, "isn't there a better way to approach this?"

"Sasuke", she stopped moving and turned to face him, "we've tried every way of tracking there is. If Kakashi-sensei were alive, I bet we'd even have tried using his dogs. Maybe the shinobi way isn't the right way to approach it".

"What are you trying to say?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should try-"

"Wait! Is that him? There?" Sasuke whirled Sakura around by the shoulders so she was facing the same direction he was. "See the orange?"

"Wha-Naruto!" Sakura called out.

"No, wait, no, too short", Sasuke frowned as he looked more closely.

"What if that was the person I saw?" Sakura suddenly asked, turning back to give Sasuke a hesitant look.

"Now you're doubting yourself?" he asked.

"I mean, it's possible…"

"If you're doubting yourself, then there's no point in any of this. I'm willing to believe you, but _you_ have to be willing to believe yourself".

"Ok, ok. I know I saw him", Sakura nodded, more to herself.

"Alright. Let's go".

* * *

Naruto was trying to juggle a handful of dangos and a popsicle that could broken into two halves as he walked down the market square. His wallet was well emptied out after a night of great food and he knew he'd have to stay in this town to work for a few weeks before he started traveling again. Such was the life of a nomad: traveling, training, earning, spending, eating. Oh, and sleeping.

He'd just finished stuffing the last dango in his mouth when a pair of familiar figures in the distance caught his attention. The way the moved, the way they oriented themselves around each other… everything looked so familiar. He drew hard on his memory and saw two images in his mind. Two teammates. Two friends. Sasuke and Sakura. He could hardly believe it was them, but it was worth a try. He had to know for sure if it was them or not.

It'd been a long time since he'd even heard new of them. They were keeping a low profile, just like he'd expected them to. After all, both Sasuke and Sakura were relatively well-known in the shinobi world, and he knew they wouldn't want to risk being recognized. He briefly wondered if they'd ever tried to contact him, but he knew that even if they had, there was no way he could have received anything. Like his two teammates, he was keeping a low profile as he traveled, choosing to enjoy the simple things in life instead of trying to become the best shinobi there was. That was the past, and his dream of being Hokage was dead anyways. It wasn't like him to be pessimistic, or to give up on re-building a dream, but the destruction of Konoha, even after all this time, still lingered heavily in his mind.

In a way, traveling was like his mental healing.

But, this was different. If that was really Sasuke and Sakura, just a bit down the street, then he had to, just _had to_, see them again. Everything else may have been dead, but he still felt the bonds that had once made them come together so closely.

Finishing half the popsicle and giving the other half to a small boy who looked like he was waiting for someone, Naruto quickened his steps, keeping his focus on the two figures that were growing closer and closer. When he was near enough to be sure it was his two teammates, an immensely large grin spread across his face and he had an urge to rush forward and grab them both, giving them probably the biggest hug they'd ever felt. But that wasn't fun.

Naruto slowed down and kept a good distance behind them, thinking of the "funnest" way to let them know of his presence. He watched them as he thought, observing the way they constantly looked around them, as if searching for something. Could they know he was here? If so, he knew he had to think of the best way to make his entrance before they found him. What would be something unforgettable?

He continued to trail after the pair, his mind working furiously until a brilliant plan came to mind. He brought his hands together to form a seal. In the end, they _were_ all shinobi, so what better way to approach them than with a jutsu?

"THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!!"

Before she could register it, Sakura felt the person beside her shoot forward, only to be replaced by a whoosh of air, then by the very person she'd spent the past hour searching for.

"Naruto!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him.

"Sakura-chan!" his long arms enveloped her in a tight hug.

"We were just looking for you! I thought I saw you today, so Sasuke and I were- oh, wha-" Sakura stopped herself and looked around, then spotted Sasuke a good distance away from them before she realized what Naruto had just done. "Oh, oh, Naruto, you're gonna get it now", she said between bouts of laughter.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke's face was pure comedy as he collected himself and stormed towards his teammate, only to be grabbed by a hysterical Sakura who was laughing so hard she looked like she could pee on herself.

"Ahhh Sakura-chan! Protect me!"

"Naruto! You brought this on yourself, you know that?!" Sakura didn't have the strength or the will to hold back her raging teammate.

"Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

"Sasuke! Stop hurting him!"

"NARUTO GET BACK HERE!"

"Wait! Sasuke! Naruto! We're all mature adults now! We're not supposed to-" Sakura sighed. They were both gone.

Once again, like all the times when they were children, she was left to walk behind her two teammates, stepping in the paths they'd once taken. She was left to chase after them and to hope to eventually catch up to them.

But this time, she felt no sadness. No disappointment in not being able to be where they were. For once, she was happy with where _she_ was. And although she was now a few blocks behind her two teammates, their yells echoing in the distance, she knew that in the end, when she finally caught up with them, they would be waiting. And they would be together.

* * *

This is the end, guys.

Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing.


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